


How Many Miles to Babylon

by Dawnlight6



Series: All the King's Horses [3]
Category: Bishoujo Senshi Sailor Moon | Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon
Genre: Angst, Drama, F/F, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-02-10
Updated: 2016-10-15
Packaged: 2018-03-11 08:13:07
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 20
Words: 83,923
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3320327
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Dawnlight6/pseuds/Dawnlight6
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The candles burned out and we lost the way, and now Babylon is a place that can never be reached. Set in the same universe as my earlier fanfic <em>All the King's Horses</em>, beginning about 12 months after the end of that story. Setsuna-centric. Setsuna/Taiki and Haruka/Michiru. Seiya and Yaten also put in appearances.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This story is set in the same universe as my earlier fanfic, _All the King's Horses_. Readers may (or may not) remember that in terms of its timeline, _All the King's Horses_ concluded in November 2002, and _How Many Miles to Babylon_ begins just over twelve months later, in December 2003.
> 
>  _Babylon_ is more Setsuna-focused than its predecessor, though we still get to see plenty of Haruka and Michiru too – and the Starlights! (Who are female full-time here). I have no idea if people are going to go for a Setsuna/Taiki romance, but hey, even Takeuchi herself compared the two in the _Materials Collection_.
> 
> I never actually intended to write anything else set in the King's Horses universe, but when this story began shaping itself in my head I really couldn't resist, and it's been immensely enjoyable to go back to that world and find out how everyone is getting on. _How Many Miles to Babylon_ is perhaps not quite as unremittingly dark and angsty as _All the King's Horses_ , but hopefully readers will still find plenty to like.

More strongly than she ever had before, Setsuna sensed that night that the time of her current human form would soon be coming to an end. Perhaps that was why she went home with her; a last defiant gasp against her fate.

The sad shadows in her amethyst eyes reminded Setsuna of long dead worlds and the bones of friends crumbling into dust, and strangely, that was what drew her at first. And then she noticed her hands; the long, elegant fingers that twirled her glass nervously as she sat next to Setsuna on the couch, obviously feeling as out of place at this rollicking party as Setsuna herself did. There was something about those hands. Setsuna imagined them trailing starlight over her dusky skin, speaking to her in a language she'd nearly forgotten – the language of touch, warmth, desire. The language of not being alone.

Finally, she noticed the fineness of her hair, nearly as long as Setsuna's own and bright and gleaming as polished wood. She was wearing it loose, not pulled back in a pony-tail, making a curtain that half-hid her face as she titled her head forward to stare into the swirling depths of her blood-coloured wine. Setsuna shocked herself by reaching out a hand and tucking several of those fine brown strands of hair behind Taiki's ear, so that she could lean in close and send breath whispering wickedly onto her skin.

"Do you want to get out of here?" she asked.

There was a gasp that only she heard. Amethyst eyes collided with hers and Setsuna saw something shift in their depths. Something that, for some reason, Setseuna thought had probably been asleep for a very long time.

Taiki glanced around at the rowdy party in full swing at Usagi's house, at the Inner senshi and the Princess herself and Seiya and Yaten all drunk as sailors and completely oblivious to the low-key proposition in their midst.

She glanced back at Setuna, and surprisingly, she smiled and arched a brow. "All right," she said.

* * *

Bare skin against hers. Someone moaning into her mouth, wanting her. Hands and heat and pleasure and _poetry_ – Setsuna hadn't expected that, had never noticed before how melodious Taiki's voice was, how perfectly suited to speaking liquid words that slid sweetly from her tongue in some strange language (Taiki's own?) that Setsuna didn't understand. She felt the meaning though, something beautiful and sad and wondering, and her body shuddered with it as the whispered words flowed down her stomach and those amethyst eyes found hers and didn't look away.

And the strangest and most treacherously dangerous thing of all was to wake the next morning with the arms of another around her and warmth at her back and restful breaths merging with hers in the pale winter dawn.

 _It can't be_ , Setsuna reminded herself. _This can never be._

She turned in the arms of her alien lover, meaning just to look at her a little in the daylight, but she unintentionally jostled her towards wakefulness so that instead of a face lost in sleep she encountered soft eyes and a softer smile.

"Setsuna," Taiki whispered, brushing a lingering hand over her shoulder and looking at her with an expression Setsuna could hardly describe. Like she'd stumbled across something wonderful she'd never expected to find, and which she had no intention of losing again.

"Taiki." Setsuna was no less shocked by the sound of her own voice, pitched lower than usual and still full of warm, lazy afterglow.

"Can I make you breakfast?" Taiki said it almost shyly, her face redder than it had been at any point the night before.

"Breakfast? Shouldn't I be offering since it's my house?"

"Is that the tradition here? On my world…"

"On your world," Setsuna prompted.

Taiki's colour resembled the red of Mars' mini-skirt. "On my world," she stammered, "if someone asks you to be their lover for the night, and it is…very pleasurable, then offering to make breakfast for that person the next morning is the way of saying it was good."

"So if you didn't offer, you'd be saying I was crap in bed?"

"Well, if it's not the way things are done here, you wouldn't have realised anyway."

Setsuna gave Taiki a crooked half-smile. "I'm not sure that's comforting. But—" She drew her fingers slowly down Taiki's body, making her arch with just the hint of a groan escaping from the back of her throat. "It was very pleasurable for me as well."

This last Setsuna said in a murmur as she took in the sight of Taiki half-helpless already, teeth biting into her lower lip, hips nudging forward hopefully. It would have been easy to send her over the edge again; Setsuna _wanted_ to do it, had to consciously force herself not to.

Moving her hand to a safer location, she frowned and tried to remember if she'd heard Haruka's car come home last night.

Haruka _had_ said she'd be at Usagi's party, but in the end she'd just sent her apologies and not shown up. Those who didn't know her well never would have guessed, but she did have that occasional flaky side to her personality. Not surprising, perhaps, given her wind element, though it was a little strange that Haruka had been willing to leave Usagi unsupervised with the Starlights.

"About breakfast. I'm not sure if Haruka's here," she said after a pause.

Taiki's eyebrows shot up, perhaps both at Setsuna's comment and her sudden change in demeanor. "Does it matter if she _is_ here?"

"No." Setsuna shrugged. "I guess not." She settled further into her pillows, rather liking the idea of being taken care of for once. "I'm not usually hungry first thing in the morning, but if you could make me some tea…"

* * *

Haruka entered the kitchen jingling her keys, and got three sentences in before she realised the person she was talking to wasn't actually Setsuna.

"Hi Setsuna. Sorry I wasn't there last night. There was, ah…Stuff I had to take care of."

Finally looking at her housemate properly, Haruka did a double take as she saw not her expected friend but the tall, ruffled Starlight wearing Setsuna's black silk dressing gown and an awkward expression.

"Haruka-san, good morning," Taiki decided to go with, polite and cautious.

A storm began to brew in Haruka's eyes. "You! What are you doing in my house?"

"Well, um, that is…"

"Where's Setsuna? Is she okay? Setsuna!"

Imagining all kinds of dark nebulous scenarios, Haruka pounded upstairs and flung open the door to Setsuna's room, to be greeted by the sight of her friend sitting up in bed clad in a thin sheet that left almost nothing to the imagination.

"Really Haruka," said Setsuna acridly, as Haruka's mouth fell open. "It's called knocking."

"You," Haruka sputtered faintly. "You spent the night – with _her_?" She pointed at Taiki accusingly, who, ignoring Haruka, slipped past into the bedroom and placed a laden tea tray down by Setsuna.

Setsuna sighed. "Haruka. If you can't be civil, go to work. Go for a drive. Go be somewhere not here."

"What happened to your neck, Haruka-san?" Taiki asked curiously, glancing up from the tea she was pouring. "Those marks look like…" Her eyes widened in shock. "No way! Michiru-san isn't here. Were you – Who were _you_ with last night?"

Taking the tea with murmured thanks, Setsuna said, "Don't worry, Taiki. If Haruka's neck looks like that it means she went to visit Michiru last night. Right?"

She glanced astutely at her housemate, and saw Haruka's cheeks heat. Yes, Setsuna thought. Michiru was probably the one who'd called Haruka. That explained why she wasn't at the party. Michiru was currently away in the third week of a six week long music tour around Japan. Originally Haruka had intended to go with her, but a troublesome monster outbreak had vetoed that plan. Of course, senshi super speed wasn't technically supposed to be used for long distance conjugal visits, but if it made her friends happy Setsuna was willing to overlook the infraction.

Haruka crossed her arms, glowering. "I'm not explaining myself to _her_. Setsuna – we'll talk later. Bye."

Taiki winced as the front door slammed and they heard Haruka's car roar away a short time later. "I'm sorry," she said worriedly. "Have I caused problems for you?"

"Not particularly. Haruka knows I'm an adult capable of making my own decisions."

"I see. In that case, could I ask…Was this just a one time thing?"

Setsuna studied Taiki, who was studying the dregs in her teacup. Despite how casual she sounded, her body was tense and there was a tremble in her voice that someone listening less carefully probably would have missed.

 _I can't_ , Setsuna thought. _It's not fair to her_.

And then she remembered the glimmer of starlight and far off galaxies she'd seen in Taiki's eyes the night before. How long had it been since she'd met someone whose eyes could draw her like that, send her soaring into the distant reach of the brightly burning stars?

How long since she'd wanted someone's scent on her fingers the way she wanted Taiki's, still, after a whole night together?

What she should be doing right now was saying yes, it was just a one time thing, being kind but detached, letting Taiki down gently, letting her go. Instead, Setsuna found herself giving the absolute last answer she should.

"It doesn't have to be," she said softly, tangling her hand into the long, chestnut strands of Taiki's hair and leaning forward to kiss her again in the morning light.

* * *

By seven that evening, there was ice in the wind and snow in the air. Haruka hadn't had a good day and the weather tonight was only making it worse. She was in a distinctly bad mood by the time she discovered yet another network of sea-caves filled with monster eggs, and she could only surmise that the universe hated her when Seiya arrived to check out the same scene about five minutes later.

"More of these things, huh?' she said, shining the small torch attached to her wrist over the fifty or so giant slimy eggs filling up the cave they were currently in. "They just keep multiplying."

"I know," Haruka growled. "I thought Pluto and I had finally destroyed all the adults, so there'd be no more eggs."

Seiya shrugged good-naturedly. "Looks like you missed a few." At Haruka's sharp glance, she quickly held up her hands. "Hey, don't take offense! I didn't mean anything by it."

Haruka regarded Seiya coolly. "What are you doing here anyway? Nothing better to do?"

"Plenty, actually. But these things do give off confusing readings, seeing as how they come from outside your solar system. I thought it might be…That object we're looking for."

"Right."

Seiya and the other two Starlights had only returned to Earth about a month ago, claiming that a powerful seer on their world had sent them to recover some kind of lost artifact. They said they needed it to help their planet, though so far all they'd revealed was that the artifact was something called the Sacred Crystal that had disappeared a long time ago. How something like that could have even ended up on Earth no one knew, and Haruka personally had her doubts it was even here.

In her more suspicious moments, she conjectured some kind of ulterior motive for the Starlights' visit, though she'd yet to come up with any evidence to support that theory other than their caution with information, and even Michiru and Setsuna said she was being paranoid.

The Princess, of course, had gone to welcome the Starlights as soon as they arrived, and Haruka had glowered in the background looking daggers at Seiya who, irritatingly, didn't seem to care.

"Since I'm here," said Seiya, "I can give you a hand if you like. There's what…about ten or fifteen caves in this network, and I'm guessing all of them have at least as many eggs as this one."

"Don't feel obliged," said Haruka coldly.

Instead of leaving at Haruka's less than inviting attitude, Seiya just laughed, transformed and went into one of the adjoining caves with a wave of her hand.

"Star Serious Laser!" Haruka heard a moment later, followed by a flash of blue light.

What an irritating person to have to work with. With a long suffering expression, Haruka transformed herself and gathered a World Shaking into her fist and released it, decimating every annoying monster egg in sight before moving onto the next cave.

"By the way, Uranus," Seiya said once they'd finished with the eggs and were retracing their steps to get back outside, "did you know that you have love bites all over your neck?"

Haruka let out an aggravated sigh. "My team-mates at the circuit wouldn't shut up about it all day. I don't need to hear it from you too."

A smile twitched at Seiya's lips. "What happened, did you get attacked by one of your fans?"

"Do you always talk this much?" Haruka grumbled.

"Seriously though. Can I ask you something?"

"I guess."

"Well, at the party last night, I was…A little tipsy, but I seem to have this vague recollection of Taiki and Setsuna leaving together. Do you know anything about that?"

Haruka grunted. Seiya snorted.

"Wow. Riveting conversations you must have with Michiru. Fine, whatever, you don't want to tell me and rat your friend out. But Taiki…She's sensitive. She gets hurt easily. I don't know what Setsuna's intentions are but they'd better not be anything less than honourable."

Her blue eyes blazed fiercely in the dark for a moment. Haruka nearly actually respected her.

The tide must have been coming in, since when they reached the mouth of the cave that had previously led onto the beach, the beach wasn't there and freezing seawater swirled up to their calves. Going carefully to keep her footing as the waves sucked at her legs, Haruka squinted out into the night to see how bad a jam they were in.

"The beach isn't that far," she reported back. "I think we can wade. We might have to swim if it gets deep. The bottom is all sand, so we won't have to worry about rocks."

"Swimming at night in winter," Seiya muttered darkly. "Is this your warped idea of fun?"

"Not really, but Neptune would be having fun right now if she was here. Besides, _you_ were the one who wanted to stay."

"Which I now thoroughly regret. Well Uranus." Seiya took a breath and waded out deeper into the icy waters to where Haruka was standing. "Seeing as the sea likes you, I'll let you go first."

Luckily, at its deepest point, the water only came up to Haruka's thighs, though unluckily, they were hit by a particularly big wave at one point which meant both senshi emerged shivering and wet nearly to their chests.

And then the snow that had been threatening started to fall.

Haruka trudged up the beach towards the carpark on the cliff above with her mouth set in a grim line of endurance. Seiya's uniform was even more skimpy than her own, and Haruka could see that every bit of her bare flesh was covered in goosebumps, and even if she was an alien, it probably wasn't good that she was turning blue.

Sourly, she said to the freezing Starlight, "do I need to gallantly offer to let you warm up in my car?"

Her spirit apparently undaunted by her late night dip, Seiya pretended to be shocked. "Uranus, are you making a pass at me? Despite the ah, rather obvious recent attentions of Ms. Love-bites, whoever she is? I'm flattered but shall have to regretfully decline. I already have a hot date lined up for tonight. And I came here in my own car." This last was added almost as an afterthought.

Giving Seiya the filthiest look she could muster, Haruka said shortly, "this hot date – I hope it's not with Usagi. She already has Mamoru."

Seiya laughed. "Honestly Uranus, _you're_ going to give lectures about not flirting with the Princess? But for your information, no, it's not with Usagi." She paused to catch her breath on the steepest part of the cliff path near the top. "What about your plans? Another hot date with Ms. Love-bites?"

"Hardly," said Haruka dryly. "I'll be tracking down the monsters that made all those eggs. Hopefully they're the final two. I don't know why they have to spawn so damn quickly."

Up on top of the cliff, the wind was even stronger and it was whispering to Haruka urgently of enemies nearby. Regretfully, she thought of the thermos of hot coffee waiting for her in her car. It was going to have to wait a little longer.

"Have a fun time with the monsters," Seiya said cheerfully, though her appearance became even more blue and bedraggled as her transformation came undone.

"Fighter."

Seiya's dark hair was dusted with snow and blowing in the wind as she paused inquiringly at her car door and raised her eyebrows expectantly.

"Thanks for the help tonight."

There was a remote possibility the smile Seiya gave her was actually genuine. Haruka was deeply disturbed.

"No problem. See ya."

The monsters politely waited for Seiya's tail lights to disappear before attacking. Haruka's mood was so foul they didn't last long.

* * *

After her not particularly spectacular though none-the-less satisfying victory, Haruka returned home wet, cold and covered in monster gore.

"Rough night?" Setsuna asked sympathetically, looking remarkably clean and warm and comfortable sitting on one of the living room couches with her Garnet Orb before her, detached from its Rod.

"The usual." Haruka shrugged. "I found more of those monster eggs, and another two adults. Hopefully that's really the last of them this time."

"I would have come to help, but…" Setsuna's eyes strayed towards the Orb. "I sensed something strange going on in the timeline tonight. I couldn't figure it out. I still can't. If I'd felt you were in trouble…"

"I wasn't. And I had the dubious pleasure of being assisted by Sailor Star Fighter."

"Ah. Searching for their lost artifact?"

"Yeah. The one that probably doesn't exist."

"We don't know that."

Haruka grimaced as she wiped her cheek and ended up sending a splatter of monster guts onto the floor.

"I know, I know," she said as Setsuna's brows drew together in a disapproving frown. "I'm going to shower right now. But I bet I'm right." She called it as a parting shot from the top of the stairs. "I bet what they're looking for isn't anywhere on this planet."

* * *

"So…I'm sorry about before."

Setsuna had exchanged the Orb for her laptop by the time Haruka went downstairs again, feeling deliciously clean and warm from a scaldingly hot shower.

"About dropping monster bits on the floor? Alas, Haruka, I'm used to your uncivilized ways after all this time."

"Not about that. Though thanks for cleaning up the mess, by the way." The red splatter of monster guts had been transformed into a clean, damp spot on the floorboards smelling strongly of disinfectant.

"I meant about the other thing. This morning."

"Oh. Right."

Haruka might have been wrong, but she thought she actually detected a slight blush on Setsuna's olive-tinted cheeks. Her fingers slowed over the keys for a moment before speeding up again.

"It's fine," she said lightly, keeping her gaze deliberately focused on whatever was on the laptop screen.

Sometimes, talking to Setsuna about something she didn't want to discuss could bear an unfortunate resemblance to slogging uphill in a snow storm, as Haruka had done earlier in the night. Michiru was better at getting things out of her usually, more subtle and crafty, but Haruka would have to make do with her own more forthright methods for now.

"I was just surprised, that's all. I've never known you to take an interest in anyone."

"And that means I'm not allowed to start?"

"Of course you can. But…Something's up with you Setsuna. Both Michiru and I have noticed. I wish you'd tell us what it is."

Setsuna gave Haruka a reassuring smile that didn't fool her for a moment.

"There's nothing, Haruka. I'm okay."

Shifting her gaze to the photographs on the wall off to Setsuna's left, Haruka asked, "is it Hotaru? Do you miss her?"

The pictures made up a whole wall of memories, going back over years that seemed to have slid by surprisingly quickly. Many of the photos were framed, others tacked up haphazardly, everything from blurry snapshots taken by Hotaru's young inexpert hands to Michiru's glossy professional portraits.

"I do miss her," Setsuna admitted. "But she's growing up. It's to be expected that she'll start leading more of a life apart from us."

Not long after finishing high school, Hotaru had gone to train in the thirtieth century with a suddenly grown-up Chibiusa, and the way things were going there was certainly a bit of a surprise, but then, Haruka reminded herself wryly, a weakness for princesses was something of a family trait.

"I hope Chibiusa doesn't end up breaking her heart."

"Even if she does, all that we can do is be there for Hotaru. You can't protect her from life, Haruka. It would be wrong to try."

"I know. I just worry about her. She's so far away. Not just in another city or another country, but in another _time_."

"Haruka. Hotaru knows you're here. She knows she can come back whenever she needs to. She'll be fine."

There was something slightly off about that statement, but tiredness was setting in and Haruka couldn't quite figure out what it was.

"The timeline?" she inquired. "Did you figure out the cause of the disturbance?"

Looking irritated, Setsuna shook her head. "It seems to have disappeared for now. I'll just have to keep an eye on things."

"And Taiki." Haruka managed to catch Setsuna's eye. "Are you planning to see her again?"

Setsuna attempted unsuccessfully to seem like she wasn't trying to be evasive. "I might do. I hope that won't be a problem."

"Only if you want to keep it a secret. Seiya already knows something is going on, and if _she_ noticed it won't be long before the others do."

"That's not really an answer, Haruka."

Haruka suddenly found the tables turned so that she was the one on the end of an unnervingly insightful garnet gaze. Her shoulders tensed.

"Given our mission as guardians who protect this planet from outside invaders, I think she's an odd choice. But not necessarily a bad one, I suppose. Unless the Starlights do turn out to be enemies. Or unless this means I have to see even more of their ratty-haired leader than I already do.

"I'm not dating all three of them," Setsuna said with a roll of her eyes.

"Ha!" Haruka let out a shout of triumph. "You said 'date'! You _are_ seeing her!"

"Honestly, Haruka." Setsuna got to her feet muttering something about warming up the dinner she'd made for them earlier. Her cheeks definitely were red this time.

Secretly, Haruka smirked to herself. Michiru was never going to believe this.

* * *

It wasn't until much later, after she'd gone to bed, that Haruka realised what had bothered her before about Setsuna's comment. She'd said _Hotaru knows you're here_ , rather than _Hotaru knows we're here_. As if, Haruka thought uneasily, Setsuna had some kind of plans to not be here in the near future.

But then why start this thing with Taiki, if she was planning on going somewhere?

Something was definitely not right, and lately there'd been even more shadows than usual in Setsuna's eyes.


	2. Chapter 2

Taiki was beautiful. Setsuna couldn't help but notice. She moved with the unconscious grace of a warrior and spoke with the wisdom of a poet. She'd developed a passion for ancient Earth history and was always asking Setsuna questions, and sometimes Setsuna was loathe to reveal how much she actually knew of those ancient civilizations long turned to dust. Most of the time, she pretended to know less than she did, but sometimes she slipped up, mentioning with certainty the answer to some riddle historians and academics had been pondering for a thousand years. The precise location of mythological cities drowned beneath the sea, or where the bones of the dead lay buried on long forgotten battlefields.

Luckily Taiki wasn't yet familiar enough with Earth history to fully realise there was no way Setsuna could humanly know some of the things she did. Or perhaps it simply didn't disturb her the way it did so many others. Her desire was always to know more, and Setsuna soon discovered it wasn't just intellectual curiosity that drove Taiki's interest.

"The Sacred Crystal was taken from my world a long time ago, so long ago that no one knows or remembers when exactly. Perhaps it was hidden on your planet many, many years ago, and there's a clue somewhere in one of the ancient stories of your world."

"That's why you're studying Earth history and mythology?" Setsuna asked. "You're hoping it will somehow lead you to your Crystal?"

Taiki smiled wryly at the doubt in Setsuana's voice. "Seiya and Yaten think I'm daft too," she said.

"Hence why they didn't accompany us on this expedition?"

"They're checking out another lead today. We can cover more ground if we split up."

A ruined shrine in the snowy woods. According to Taiki, there was an old legend of a shining crystal that had once adorned this shrine, but if such a thing had ever existed Setsuna was sure it wasn't here now.

She didn't have the heart to say that to Taiki though, whose eyes had lit up with hope as soon as the shrine came into view.

Already nearly a week had passed since Usagi's party. A shocking amount of it Setsuna seemed to have spent in bed; afternoons, mornings, nights, it didn't seem to matter. And not always doing the obvious. A lot of the time, they just talked, hours slipping by without either of them realising. And even though Setsuna had inadvertently used…that dating word when she spoke to Haruka, she really wasn't entirely sure what was happening between her and Taiki, and she didn't know why Taiki had asked her to come today.

Setsuna wasn't used to not knowing things. It unnerved her and rather fascinated her at the same time.

Today, for example, she could be here as an expert, relatively speaking, on ancient Earth, in a supervisory capacity as an Outer Sailor Solider, or…or, she supposed, there was an outside possibility that it might in fact be some kind of date.

Haruka, who was being irritatingly nosy without Michiru to distract her, had said it was definitely a date. She'd gone so far as to claim that if there was such a thing as a senshi dating handbook, then _inviting the soldier you're interested in on a deathly dangerous mission_ would definitely be listed as an official senshi courting technique.

But then, Haruka's own experiences had probably warped her judgement.

They searched for most of the short winter day. There was no Crystal.

"Damn it," Taiki cursed.

Her expression was tight with anxiety as she looked up towards the darkening sky (searching for home?), her breath blooming into gliding white ghosts.

Uncharacteristically moved, Setsuna sidled up beside her and placed her bare hand against the warmth of Taiki's back. "If this Crystal really is somewhere on Earth, we'll find it. Eventually. But this is a large, sprawling untidy planet. It might take a while."

"I don't know how much time we've got." Though she didn't shift her eyes from the sky, Taiki leaned into Setsuna's shoulder, wordlessly accepting the comfort offered.

"Why do you need this Crystal so badly?"

Taiki made a sound of amusement. "We never told you, did we? That was Yaten's idea. She's always suspicious like that."

"You can trust me, Taiki. As long as you're not planning to use the Crystal for something bad."

"Of course it's not for anything bad," said Taiki sharply, giving Setsuna an affronted look. Her voice softened, and her eyes were suddenly terrifyingly fragile. "We need it to save my world."

"Your world? Is this some kind of lingering effect from Galaxia?"

"No. Kinmoku was restored after Galaxia. This is a different problem. The natural climate of my planet is extremely hot and harsh. Too harsh to support life. But its environment was transformed many thousands of years ago by two magical crystals – the Sacred Crystal and the Healing Crystal. Working together, the two Crystals sustained our planet – until the Sacred Crystal disappeared. Then the Healing Crystal became solely responsible, and it's reached the point now where it's nearly depleted. We think it can be restored if it's reunited with the Sacred Crystal, but if not…The habitable parts of Kinmoku will shrink and shrink until there's nothing left. The planet will destabilise, and everyone will die."

"How long?" Setsuna asked.

"When we left, we were told two years at the most."

"Would an evacuation be possible, in the event you needed to?"

"There's nowhere to go. And even if there was, we'd never save everyone. Our Princess would die protecting those still left on the planet."

"If that's what you're facing, then why—"

"Why have I spent the last week with you? Why am I with you now? I don't know. It's not what I should be doing. Or maybe it is." Shifting so that they were facing each other, Taiki brushed a hand over Setsuna's cheek. Even in the dark, her eyes were shining with determination and intensity of feeling. "Being with you," she whispered, "makes me feel like I have something to fight for."

Setsuna could only stare at Taiki, with guilt stirring somewhere deep in her heart. She shouldn't be anyone's reason for fighting. She barely existed. Soon enough, she probably wouldn't exist at all.

"Fighting for your world isn't enough?" she asked, hearing a cold note of disapproval creeping into her voice.

Taiki dropped her hand and looked away with a sigh. "I love my world," she said quietly. "But sometimes…I'm glad when my missions take me far away."

There it was again, that sadness in her eyes. What had happened to make her look like that? Was it watching her friends and her princess die? Witnessing the destruction of her planet? Being forced to leave her comrades behind, twice now, on a crumbling world? Oh yes, there might be resurrections and restorations and rebirths galore, but those who saw the world end didn't forget. Setsuna knew that herself.

Around them, night had truly settled into the forest. There was almost complete silence except for the sound of over-laden branches dumping their snow onto the ground and the swoosh of an owl's wings overhead.

They should really be leaving this forgotten shrine to slumber through an age that no longer needed whatever gods had once been worshipped here; return to the city with its bustle of lights and life. Put back on the ill-fitting mantle of normalcy again, until the next time destiny called.

Taiki didn't seem particularly inclined to move. Neither was Setsuna.

"And why is it that you're glad when your missions take you far away?" Seemingly of their own accord their bodies had drifted closer again, cramped, stiff hands reaching out to find each other in the dark.

With a catch in her voice, Taiki replied, "too many memories, I suppose. Too many things I can no longer change. But none of that matters. It's the future I have to save, and I _will_ save it."

Setsuna smiled. "I've no doubt of that," she said.

She kissed Taiki's lips, lightly, in case this wasn't, in fact, a date after all, but Taiki clasped her hands around Setsuna's waist and drew her in closer, mouth opening willingly.

"Take me back to your place," she said after a while, breathlessly, fingers delving beneath Setsuna's clothes to stroke her bare stomach.

"What about…Mmm…Seiya and Yaten?"

"They would have called me if they found anything. There's nothing else we can do for tonight, and at least when I'm with you…"

Her fingers snuck lower, making Setsuna gasp. She felt Taiki's nose against her neck, dragging an icy line over her skin, followed by a warm tongue swiping just behind her ear. With a groan, she tipped her head back, pleasure flaring low in her belly.

"At least when I'm with you," Taiki repeated, and there was a raw edge to her voice now that Setsuna would have preferred not to hear, "sometimes I can sleep."

A few backward steps through the powdery snow and Setsuna felt the rough bark of a tree trunk behind her. Taiki was pressing into her harder with her fingers, using her free hand to unbutton Setsuna's pants. Setsuna rolled her hips into her touch, placing her arms around Taiki's neck and smelling the sweet scent of osmanthus that always seemed to linger on her skin. The rhythm was fast and furious and Setsuna didn't last long, didn't really try, just let it take her away until she was coming with a cry, disturbing the owl perched in the branches above them who took off with an offended ruffle of feathers.

Taiki's cheeks and lips were scarlet in the night. "Your place?" she asked again, the condensation of her breath merging with Setsuna's own.

It took a moment for Setsuna to steady herself enough to reply. "My place. But don't expect to sleep for a while."

That was the first time she saw Taiki laugh.

* * *

Eventually, Taiki did fall asleep, brown hair fine as spider web silk clinging to the curves of her body, limbs free of all their tension.

Setsuna was just drifting off herself when she was jerked awake by a sudden spike in dark energy and a sick certainty in her gut that Uranus was in danger somewhere nearby.

She grabbed her transformation pen and let it take her where it would, ending up as Pluto in a dank, wet cave smelling strongly of salt. She could hear a muffled booming that she realised must be the ocean.

It was almost pitch black, the only light coming from the glimmer of the Space Sword, unfortunately lying out of Uranus's reach at the moment. Yet another of the egg-laying monsters they'd been dealing with for the last few weeks had Uranus in its grip, clawed hand round her neck, apparently doing its best to crush the life out of her while her arms flailed ineffectually against its thick, scaly hide.

A Dead Scream was enough to damage the monster and make it let Uranus go with an angry roar. It turned furiously towards its new attacker, large pale eyes glinting with malice, its previous victim momentarily forgotten. Not the wisest move on the monster's part, since Uranus had already rolled to her Sword and gotten it back in her grasp, and before Pluto could even gather another attack Uranus had felled the monster with a couple of mighty blows.

She grinned at her partner wolfishly in the near dark. "Thanks Pluto. Timely arrival."

"Anything else to take care of down here?" Pluto asked, more calmly than she felt.

"Just the one monster this time. I've already destroyed the eggs."

"You should have called me sooner."

"We take this passage to get out of here," Uranus said, pointing with her sword and ignoring Pluto's chastisement.

"Uranus!" said Pluto sharply.

"Look, I didn't want to disturb you, okay? I heard you sneaking back with your date. And I'm usually fine dealing with these creatures on my own. So are you. We've mostly been tracking them down solo anyway. Tonight I was just unlucky."

"There'll be no more of that," Pluto decided, following Uranus up the close passageway that smelled strongly of dead fish. "We need to start partnering up again. If anything happens to you while Neptune's away, she'll have my head."

Uranus gave a bark of laughter. "All about your own sense of self-preservation, I see."

Pluto gave Uranus a sly, sidelong glance. "Well of course, if _you_ want to be the one to explain to Neptune when she gets back that you were always going out alone and putting yourself in more danger than necessary then you are very welcome to do so."

Dismay flickered across Uranus's features as she obviously imagined Neptune's reaction.

"Yeah okay," she said quickly. "We'll start partnering up."

Satisfied, Pluto relaxed her grip slightly on her Garnet Rod and addressed the rest of Uranus's comment. "Also, I was not 'sneaking back' with Taiki. We were just being quiet and considerate."

"Uh huh. Sure you were. We can climb out here."

The shimmer of Uranus's Sword revealed a tunnel going straight up with ancient rusted staples driven into the rock to form a rough ladder.

"We'll have to put our Talismans away but we can use these for light." Uranus handed Pluto a narrow torch that could be strapped to her wrist and attached one to herself. "Ready?"

"By all means," said Pluto.

The climb was long and slippery but uneventful. Haruka detransformed at the top and looked curiously at Pluto. "You're going to stay like that? It's a little conspicuous."

"Hmm, well, slight problem. I may have been somewhat unclothed when I left. And I know you have a reputation Haruka, but riding around with a naked woman on your motorbike might be a bit much."

Haruka's motorbike was in fact parked not three feet away; obviously the means of transportation by which she'd gotten here.

"Here. You can put on my jacket to hide your uniform in that case."

Pluto caught the bulky leather riding jacket Haruka threw her way.

"Thanks."

After slipping the jacket on, she mounted the bike behind Haruka and got a secure grip on her waist.

Over the roar of the motorbike starting up, she heard Haruka say, somewhat smugly, "so I _was_ right about today being a date, wasn't I? And I'm guessing a rather successful one at that if you turned up here naked straight from bed."

"Perhaps," said Pluto, murmuring into Haruka's shoulder so that she couldn't actually hear properly, "it's becoming a little too successful."

"What?" Haruka shouted, voice competing with the noise of the engine and the wind streaming past as she took off down the dirt track that hopefully led to a proper road at some point.

"Nothing," Pluto said.

* * *

When they got home, Taiki was sitting up in the lounge room with a mug of tea that mostly looked like it hadn't been touched. She got to her feet with vague anxiety flickering through her eyes as Setsuna and Haruka entered, looking from one to the other and back again.

"Everything all right?"

"My apologies," Haruka said, whose attitude towards Taiki seemed to have softened somewhat since that first morning. "I had to borrow Setsuna for a bit. But she's all yours for the rest of the night. Enjoy yourselves!"

She disappeared upstairs and a few moments later the sound of the shower started.

"An enemy incursion?" Taiki asked Setsuna, sliding her hands into her lover's long tangled green hair to try and sort out the mess caused by the motorbike ride.

"Just another of those egg-laying monsters. They seem to be never ending. Shall we?"

Despite Haruka's recommendation, Setsuna and Taiki almost immediately went back to sleep. It was strange, how quickly Setsuna had adjusted to having Taiki in her bed after years (and if she was honest, much longer than years) of sleeping alone.

They were near enough to the same height, and Taiki had a habit, sometimes before she went to sleep, sometimes after, of ending up wrapped around Setsuna, lips resting against the nape of her neck, her hold more tender and protective than it should have been.

Setsuna was beginning to wonder at her own motivations in continuing this. After all, it wasn't like she didn't know who Taiki was. With the exception of Sailor Moon, the Starlights had lasted longer against Galaxia than any Sailor Soldier of this world. They'd crossed uncounted galaxies last time to find their Princess, and they were no less determined about this Sacred Crystal. Taiki was part of a team who didn't give in and didn't give up.

And if she chose to apply that same determination here…

Well, that was why Setsuna didn't trust her own motivations. It was almost like some part of her wanted to be saved. She should be distancing herself from the world right now, not finding ways to draw herself further in. No matter what some small, secret part of her wanted, Setsuna knew her responsibility and there could only be one ending here.

Not the one Taiki wanted, and perhaps not the one she wanted either. But they were soldiers, which meant they couldn't always be mistresses of their own destinies. Setsuna's destiny didn't lie in Taiki's arms; it lay far away in the swirling mists at the Doors of Time, a never-ending duty that loomed inescapable in both her past and her future.

This was only an ephemeral present that Setsuna knew she'd one day come to doubt had ever even existed, when she'd been standing at the Doors for so long she'd become nothing more than a vessel for the dark powers of the underworld, so wild and savage she wouldn't even recognise her own future Princess and Queen in Sailor Moon.

That was what waited for her, and Setsuna had always tried to rationalise it as a necessary sacrifice to protect the lives of those she loved, shying away from examining too deeply what had bound her to that fate in the first place. But the inevitability of that future she'd already lived had maybe never hurt more than it did tonight, in the unexpected embrace of her alien lover's arms.

* * *

Michiru came home on Christmas Eve. Of course Haruka went to the airport to pick her up, her heart jolting like a skittish colt when she caught sight of the smile curling Michiru's lips as their eyes met across the several inconvenient feet and handful of disembarking passengers still separating them.

"Good trip?" she asked when Michiru was close enough, a hint of breathlessness betraying her feelings.

"Remarkably clear and calm. I heard there were high winds forecast around the airport tonight, but they seem to have mysteriously disappeared."

"Really," said Haruka innocently. "That's curious." She quickly appropriated Michiru's violin with one arm and Michiru herself with the other. "Let's go find your luggage."

* * *

"So Haruka." Michiru's eyes were dancing in amusement as she glanced at Haruka's reflection from where she sat in front of her vanity mirror brushing her hair. "There's a rumour going round that you cheated on me while I was away."

Not moving from where she was stretched out on the invitingly turned down bed, Haruka said casually, "oh yeah. I met this beautiful mysterious woman late one night…Did I forget to tell you that?"

There was a playful, flirtatious lift to Michiru's reply. "Really? I'm a little jealous."

For a few moments, Haruka watched the rhythmic glide of the brush through Michiru's hair and admired the arch of her body caused by her arms being raised. "It was all very clandestine. She had to smuggle me into her hotel room so that no one saw me. We nearly got caught a couple of times."

"Ah. And you made love to her?"

Haruka shot Michiru a look from beneath her lashes. "You know I did," she said in a low voice.

There was a pause and a warm smile cast Haruka's way from the glass of the mirror. "Your beautiful mysterious woman may have been lonely before you got there. She was glad you answered her."

"Well perhaps I could persuade her to keep me company again tonight?" Haruka asked hopefully. "Her handsome lover has also been rather lonesome of late."

With a hint of laughter, Michru laid her brush down and went and joined Haruka on the bed. She took Haruka's hand and gave her lips a small, teasing kiss. "Thank you for staying here and taking care of the monsters so I could go on tour. Are we finally clear of them now?"

"I think so. No new attacks for three days. We might get a nice quiet Christmas."

"You _do_ remember that we're going to Usagi's house tomorrow?"

Haruka sighed. "Yes, I remember. And she's even invited the Starlights. But regardless," Turning Michiru's hand over in her own she meditatively kissed her palm. "I'm glad your tour was a success. Not that it would be anything else, of course."

"Thank you. Let's hope inconvenient monsters don't interrupt our plans next time."

Drawing Michiru into her arms, Haruka brought their lips together again, tasting Michiru's mouth with her tongue, enjoying the glide of Michiru's body against hers, the weight of her, the severely missed warmth of her.

"It's Christmas Eve," Michiru mused quietly, her eyes unfocused and far away for a moment. She touched Haruka's face, voice fervent with something Haruka didn't quite get. "I'm glad I'm with you," she whispered.

"I'm glad to have you here," Haruka husked, nuzzling into the tempting pulse she could feel beating fast in Michiru's throat. "This bed felt too empty without you."

Michiru gave a soft whimper and shuddered above her.

Haruka still half wanted to ask about the meaning of that sad, fervent look, but pretty soon Michiru's mouth was engaged in a very thorough exploration of her and she forgot about anything except begging for the next kiss to fall.

* * *

"Is Setsuna really seeing Taiki?" Michiru asked later, being sure to keep her voice soft. "That wasn't a joke?"

"Not a joke," Haruka confirmed. "Like I told you on the phone, they hooked up at Usagi's party and seem to have hit it off since then."

"Setsuna has never dated anyone before, that we know of." Michiru's voice was thoughtful.

"I know. It's not like her. And I still think something is bothering her, but I've tried talking to her and she won't say anything. I don't know how this thing with Taiki fits in with that, or if it even does."

"What do Seiya and Yaten think of it?"

"I get the impression they don't much like it, but they're holding their tongues."

"Hmm." Michiru snuggled closer to Haruka. "I hope it works out. I'd like Setsuna to be happy with someone."

"Even if it's one of the Starlights?"

"You still think of them as intruders from outside the solar system? Not to be trusted?"

"Well, _Seiya_ —"

"You and Seiya just don't like each other."

"With good reason. She did try to court our Princess when we were fighting Galaxia. And she flirted with you that one time."

" _How_ many years ago was that now?"

Haruka mumbled something indistinct.

"I think you should give Setsuna and Taiki a chance. Who are we to say they shouldn't be together? Usagi and Mamoru were once forbidden lovers. You and I were not much better off. Pluto didn't object to us back then, even though I'm sure she could have. We owe her the same understanding."

"I know. I have been giving them a chance. I actually think Taiki is…Not bad. Setsuna seems happy when she's with her, but the rest of the time it's like she's even more sad than usual. I'm telling you Michiru, something is off."

Michiru sighed. "If you think that, you're probably right. I wish she'd tell us what's wrong. Surely she knows she can trust us by now."

"You'd think so." Shifting so that she could get a better look at Michiru's face in the dim room, Haruka added, "Hey, what was that thing before, about being glad to be with me on Christmas Eve?"

"Well, it's true Haruka."

"It was something more than that. This is only our second Christmas together since…the thing with Metalia. It was something to do with that, wasn't it? Something from when you were in Vienna?"

With a shake of her head, Michiru said, "it doesn't matter. I'm home now."

Something about Michiru's expression warned Haruka off further questions, and she knew what that most likely meant Michiru was thinking of.

And that wasn't where Haruka wanted Michiru's thoughts to be, tonight of all nights. She tangled a hand into Michiru's hair, claiming her, making the past give up its hold. Leaning in for another kiss, she vowed, "you are home, Michiru, and I am never letting you go again."

Haruka's mouth was sweet on hers, and her body was warm. It was all Michiru needed to wipe the memories away.


	3. Chapter 3

_Secure the timeline for the future and then return to take up your duty at the Door of Space-Time_.

Such as it was, that was Pluto's order. A vague order to be sure, and the one who'd given it to her long ago should have known better than anyone that no future was ever guaranteed. No matter how carefully planned for, no matter how fervently wished for, everything could be swept away in a heartbeat.

But since it was her order, Pluto had to carry it out to the best of her ability; to ensure, as much as she could before she left this current time, that the world and her friends were in a stable enough position that only the greatest of unseen disasters would be able to threaten the future.

And as she watched them all at the Christmas Party that day, Setsuna knew the Sailor Team had never been stronger. The bond between Usagi and Mamoru was obvious for all to see; likewise the love the Inner soldiers shared for each other and the Princess, their feelings only growing deeper with each passing year. Haruka and Michiru were back to being as dedicated to their relationship and their duty as they'd ever been, the mess caused by Metalia finally fixed.

Hotaru had already reached adulthood and willingly taken up her new task as Chibiusa's soldier and seemingly more besides.

There was the repository of knowledge at the Mansion and a whole secret medical facility tailored to senshi needs underneath her own house. Setsuna had been doing all she could to ensure her friends would have every kind of resource they might need to get them all safely to the prophesized golden age of the New Silver Millennium.

With the increasing strength and stability of her friends as they grew into their powers and responsibilities, Setsuna too had noticed the timeline becoming quiet. Aside from that slight disturbance a few weeks ago, she hadn't sensed anything for nearly twelve months.

Even the arrival of the Starlights hadn't caused any disruptions. Setsuna still would have liked to stay long enough to see that situation resolved, but could she really justify it? No matter when she left, there'd always be loose threads she couldn't tidy. The point was, the Earth wasn't in crisis, and after this last year of watching Setsuna hadn't seen anything to make her doubt that the Sailor Team would be capable of taking care of any future crises without her.

In her heart, Setsuna knew it was already time.

She stood back and watched them all, her friends, her family, telling herself she mustn't forget this. This warmth, this laughter, this love. She mustn't ever forget that this was what she fought to protect, even if she could never feel it again for herself.

As often happened at Usagi's parties, things were already descending into chaos. Minako had gotten hold of some trashy gossip magazine with an article speculating on Haruka's supposed womanizing, and was reading out bits of titillating prose and grilling Haruka mercilessly about the unexplained love bites that had appeared during Michiru's time away.

Of course they all knew there was zero chance of any actual infidelity between Haruka and Michiru, but that didn't mean they knew how the love bites had gotten there. And it appeared that Minako at least was determined to try and find out. Her baiting just led to Haruka being stubbornly silent on the subject, but Michiru was enjoying herself, telling the Inners a dramatic tale about how Haruka had admitted to meeting a beautiful, mysterious woman late one night.

Expression hovering between boredom and amusement, Seiya got up unobserved and wandered towards the Conservatory, where Usagi had disappeared some time ago. Setsuna did a quick survey and accounted for everyone else, including Mamoru, who was engaged in a discussion with Yaten and Taiki that looked rather more intellectual than the standard Minako had set for her group.

Yaten's eyes also followed Seiya as she left, Setsuna noticed. Were the other two Starlights also watchful in case their leader should once again fall for Usagi's charms? Even Haruka had to admit that it didn't seem like Seiya was habouring feelings for their Princess this time around, but she might have just gotten a lot better at concealment.

Setsuna definitely didn't need an unhappy love triangle clogging up the timeline she'd worked so hard to secure.

Meanwhile, Haruka had finally snapped and was yelling at Minako she'd duel her in the snow to defend her good name, and Michiru was rubbing her arm soothingly and reassuring her that no one actually believed what was in the trashy magazine.

Yaten used the distraction to quietly slip away after Seiya, and Setsuna herself soon followed.

Usagi was crying in the midst of Mamoru's red conservatory roses, their bright colour contrasting sharply with the snow falling softly outside the thick glass walls. Keeping well hidden, Setsuna watched Seiya approach the Princess, and noticed Yaten watching some way ahead of her.

"Princess," said Seiya gently, "what are you doing in here crying by yourself? You should be with your friends."

"I know." Usagi sniffed, and seemed to make a super-human but ultimately unsuccessful effort to stem her tears. "It's just that right now I feel so happy I can't help it, and I know it would upset everyone to see me cry. I wouldn't be able to make them understand it's not a bad thing. That's why I came in here."

Apparently deciding to abandon her half-concealed watch, Yaten joined the other two and briefly brushed her hand over Seiya's arm. "You're crying because you're happy?" she said to Usagi. "That doesn't make sense."

Wiping her eyes and smiling at them Usagi murmured, "all that I ever want is for everyone I love to be happy together. But so often it doesn't work out like that. Too often, they suffer because of me, and I know that they wouldn't change, even if I asked them to. So feeling everyone's happiness today…Makes me glad. I hope we can finally be peaceful for a long, long time."

Seiya touched Usagi's cheek with something tender in her expression that made Setsuna's gut twitch warningly.

"You haven't changed, Princess," said Seiya quietly. "Not a bit."

Her voice less prickly than Setsuna had ever heard it, Yaten agreed, "her warmth is just the same as I remember."

Usagi looked at them and blinked. Setsuna was gearing herself up to intervene when a light touch landed on her shoulder. She half jumped and turned to see Taiki standing just behind her, a smile flickering about her lips.

"If you're worried about Seiya," she said in a low voice, "there's no need. She isn't in love with your Princess any more. She just cares for her deeply, the way you all do."

Still watching warily, Setsuna replied, "can you really be sure of that, Taiki? Without even realising it, Usagi draws people in with her light. I don't want you to think I'm being cruel to Seiya; I know an unrequited love is painful – but I can't allow something like that to threaten the stability of the future."

"Seiya isn't in love with Usagi. Believe me, I'm sure."

The certainty in Taiki's voice piqued Setsuna's interest, and she half-turned to look at her. "Do you mean Seiya's found someone else?"

Dismay flickered across Taiki's features, and Setsuna surmised she'd let slip more than she meant to. "I can't really tell you that. It's…Well, it's up to her to say when she's ready."

"Like us, huh?"

"Us?"

"Well. Aside from Haruka and Michiru on my side, and Seiya and Yaten on your side, no one at this party even knows, do they? And we're not going out of our way to tell them."

"Do you want to?" asked Taiki, looking a little confused.

"No."

Seiya and Yaten had cheered the Princess up to the point where she was nearly laughing.

"That's not a complication I want right now. I just meant; I understand."

 _No point_ , Setsuna thought. _No point telling them. Soon I'll be gone. Soon they'll forget I was ever here._

Taiki's voice whispered in her ear. "So how about we see each other tonight, then? The last few days, the search has kept me too busy…"

"I would never want you to discard your duty for me," Setsuna said quickly, meaning it. "You're fighting to save your world. Nothing is more important than that for a soldier."

She was spun around so fast she was dizzy for a moment. There was old, old pain in Taiki's eyes and desperation in her lips as she fervently sought Setsuna's mouth in a crushing kiss.

"And what would you say constitutes a world?" she whispered, just drawing back. "And how do you go on once you've lost it?"

Before Setsuna could even begin to untangle an answer, the voices of Yaten, Seiya and Usagi sounded, much closer than before. Setsuna and Taiki barely had time to leap apart before their respective Princess and friends rounded the nearest corner, chatting easily.

Seiya saw them first and stiffened, giving Setsuna a glare she could only wish was unwarranted.

Either oblivious to or disregarding Seiya's reaction, Usagi smiled at Setsuna and Taiki warmly, not seeming to be surprised at stumbling upon them in the conservatory. She also either didn't notice, or politely ignored, the flushed state of their cheeks.

"Setsuna, Taiki; I've barely gotten the chance to catch up with either of you lately. Is everything…okay?"

Her gaze lingered on Setsuna longest. Had perhaps Haruka or Michiru said something? No, it was doubtful. They wouldn't bother the Princess with Outer Solider business.

"I'm well, Princess," said Setsuna reassuringly.

"Me also," said Taiki, returning the Princess's smile. "And we should be getting back to the party. The others will be wondering where we are."

"That's what we were doing," Seiya muttered, giving Taiki a slight eye roll that was still quite fond.

When they got back, Setsuna discovered that Haruka had apparently been dissuaded from dueling Minako, though she was still throwing the occasional scowl her way. Minako looked totally unrepentant.

Seemingly glad of a fresh outlet for her annoyance, Haruka switched her attention to the new arrivals. "What were you lot doing?" she asked with a suspicious frown that was mostly directed at Seiya.

"Group orgy," said Yaten. "Obviously."

Seiya swept up the trashy magazine from where it had been discarded on one of the couches and waved it in Haruka's direction. "You know, Tenoh, not that I care or anything, but if you don't want these kinds of rumours circulating, you could try actually releasing a statement to the press."

"The press doesn't need to know about my personal life in order to assess my racing skills!"

"So you'll just say nothing and let people think the worst?"

"If they're the sort of people who would think that about me, their opinions don't really matter."

Usagi was looking unhappily at the trashy magazine now clutched in Seiya's hand. "I wish people wouldn't write horrible things like that. Don't they care they might be hurting others?"

Haruka uncrossed her arms in a gesture of surprise. "It's really nothing to worry about Princess. Michiru and I are fine, right?"

"Right," Michiru confirmed, meeting Haruka's glance with a soft smile.

A few spontaneous rose petals drifted down, as if to settle the matter, and the Princess held out her palm to catch one, closing her hand around the small velvety fragment and bringing it close to her heart. She tilted her head forward and closed her eyes. "I'm glad," she murmured.

Mamoru, who'd been absent for the last few minutes, stepped into the room wearing a pink frilly apron. "Usako – everyone – Christmas dinner is ready. Shall we head to the dining room?"

Amidst a chorus of happy exclamations, Seiya began to hold out her arm to escort the Princess, but Haruka quickly stepped forward. "I think you'll find that's my job," she said curtly.

Seiya looked amused. "Your job? I thought the job of an Outer Soldier was to watch from afar."

"And to intervene when necessary in order to provide protection."

"What do you think I'm going to do? Go all Prince Demand and kidnap Odango?"

"Oh honestly," Rei muttered. "We'll be here all day." She reached forward and plucked Usagi neatly from between the two bickering rivals, tucking her hand under her own arm.

"Usagi, _I'll_ escort you. Those two numskulls can find something else to fight about."

"Numskull?" said Haruka in an affronted voice, as Michiru chuckled.

Appearing to take the loss of the Princess more philosophically than Haruka, Seiya barely missed a beat before offering her arm to a surprised-looking Michiru.

"Perhaps, then, you'll do me the honour?" she asked with an exaggerated bow.

"Me?" said Michiru, "I'd be delighted." Delicately, she placed her hand on Seiya's arm and together the two of them glided off towards the dining room.

Haruka's eyebrows twitched dangerously and her eyes focused on Seiya's retreating back with a death-ray stare. Minako hastily grabbed her arm and began dragging her towards the dining room as well.

"Hurry up, Haruka. I'm hungry and I want to eat."

"When we find out for sure she's an enemy," Haruka hissed, not taking her eyes off Seiya, "I get to be the one to kill her, okay?"

Complaining loudly enough that Setsuna could hear her even after she left the room, Minako said, "why is it always violence with you? Can't you take up a nice, relaxing hobby like – like origami or something?"

Taiki's expression hovered between laughter and worry as Ami and Makoto and Mamoru and Yaten paired up ahead of them. "Haruka isn't serious about killing Seiya, is she?"

"Not as long as she isn't an enemy," said Setsuna, and for a moment there was the unrelenting coldness of an Outer Guardian in her voice.

The half-amusement hovering on Taiki's face vanished and her reply was sharp. "You still think we might be enemies?" She glanced around quickly to make sure the others had left and lowered her voice. "Even though you keep going to bed with me? What kind of person does that?"

"One who can't ignore her duty."

"If you're really not sure of me, Setsuna, you shouldn't be with me at all." Taiki held Setsuna's eyes, waiting for her to say something, and when she didn't, looked away unhappily. "Perhaps seeing each other tonight isn't such a good idea after all," she said.

It was just a small stumble; the kind from which recovery would not have been difficult if Setsuna had actually found the courage to speak. Of course with how much integrity Taiki had she wouldn't be okay with being used by someone who half-thought she might have to harm her later, and she was probably feeling worse for trusting Setsuna enough to reveal the loss she'd mentioned before in the conservatory.

Just a touch probably would have been enough to reassure her, if Setsuna had slid her fingers through the brown silk of Taiki's hair, if she'd clasped her hand and whispered the truth in her ear. But instead Setsuna looked away herself and let the familiar cold feel of isolation settle over her heart as she pulled her arm away.

"Whatever you like," she replied softly.

* * *

Setsuna thought she'd long mastered the skill of hiding her emotions, but either she was becoming less successful at it or Haruka and Michiru knew her even better than she thought, because they could obviously sense something was wrong on the drive home that evening.

The pretty drifting snow that had fallen throughout the day turned to icy sleet after sunset as the wind began to rise. Inside Haruka's car with the hood up, things were cramped and uncomfortably silent. Setsuna watched Haruka's hands on the steering wheel, her thoughts straying into odd places she'd have preferred them not to go.

Haruka and Michiru were going to have sex again tonight; Setsuna could tell from the slightly-too-tight grip Haruka was keeping on the wheel, and the way Michiru was sitting in the front seat beside her, extra prim with her knees together and her hands folded in her lap.

Over the years, Setsuna had deliberately trained herself not to notice things like that, but tonight…

She jumped as Michiru suddenly turned and spoke to her.

"Was it Haruka's fault?" she asked, brow crinkled and eyes worried.

"My fault? Was what my fault?" Haruka said, tossing a glance towards her partner.

"What do you think? Taiki avoided Setsuna all afternoon at the party. Was it because of what Haruka said about Seiya?"

Setsuna shook her head. "No. It was because of something I did. It doesn't matter."

Michiru's frown deepened. "What do you mean it doesn't matter?"

"It's probably for the best."

Without warning, Haruka abruptly pulled over to the curb with a quick screech of brakes, jerking all of them forward into their seat belts.

Eyes flashing in exasperation, she also turned to look at Setsuna. "What do you mean it's for the best? Of course it isn't! I've seen the way you two are around each other. Don't try telling me she doesn't care about you, or you don't care about her. Whatever crazy logic you're using to try and justify this to yourself – whatever reasons you have for thinking you need to come to terms with giving her up – trust me, _it's not worth it_."

Before Setsuna could say anything, Haruka had turned back to the road and wrenched the car into gear, wheeling them round so they were heading in the opposite direction and narrowly avoiding about six cars in the process.

"And where might we be going?" inquired Michiru calmly as they sped back down the road they'd just been driving up moments before.

Haruka caught Setsuna's eye in the rearview mirror. "To see the Starlights, of course."

* * *

The Starlights were not pleased to see them. At least, Seiya wasn't, and she was the one who opened the door of the apartment.

"Now what? Come to check we're not about to put some nefarious plan into action?"

"No," said Haruka calmly. "Setsuna has come to see Taiki."

Seiya gave Setsuna a surly glance. "Taiki is in her room."

"I believe the usual course of action is to go and knock politely," Haruka prompted.

"Why should I?"

"Because whatever Setsuna did, she's come to apologise for it. Right?" The look Haruka gave Setsuna left no room for disagreement.

Not that that should have mattered. Not if Setsuna really was trying to sever all the bonds that tied her to the world. Yaten approached and interrupted before she could reply. It had been happening to Setsuna all day. Or maybe she was just taking every opportunity to slip away from having to answer, hiding behind each and every new distraction that presented itself.

Green eyes sparkling with anger, Yaten said bluntly to Haruka, "you're the one who should be apologising to Seiya for what you said today. Have you forgotten that we once protected this world and your Princess after all of you fell? How could you even _dare_ —"

"I will apologise, if Seiya wants me to."

It was hard to say who was most shocked by this thoroughly unusual offer. Certainly Setsuna hadn't seen it coming, and her blood pounded guiltily with the knowledge that Haruka was probably doing it only for her benefit.

Recovering faster than Yaten, Seiya gave Haruka a half-smile that wasn't so much friendly as a recognition of the cessation of hostilities. "If I really were here to hurt Usagi, Uranus would be right to kill me. I don't need an apology for that."

"I give up," muttered Yaten, throwing her hands in the air and walking away. "As soon as we left the party you wouldn't shut up about being owed an apology, and now you go and forgive her just like that. You're impossible Seiya!" She emphasized her last, rather loud assertion, with a robust door slam as she went into what was presumably her bedroom.

Taiki stuck her head out from behind a different door, one headphone hanging loose and another still plugged into her ear. "Seiya," she said, before she caught sight of the trio of guests at the front door, "what have you done to upset Yaten _now_?"

"Never mind that," Seiya said with a flourish. "Tada, we have guests!"

Coolly looking Setsuna, Haruka and Michiru over, Taiki turned her attention back to Seiya without acknowledging them. "You should go talk to Yaten. Otherwise you know she'll be sulking for days."

"Taiki!" Taiki's name slipped from Setsuna's grasp, emerging throaty and urgent from her unwilling lips.

Taiki's expression might have been set in stone. Pushing past Seiya, who made a belated and half-hearted attempt to stop her, Setsuna grabbed Taiki's hand and disappeared with her into the room she'd just come out of.

Seiya, Haruka and Michiru were left staring awkwardly at one another, until Seiya spoke. "Tenoh, if this ends up going wrong, I blame you. Remember that. Now, if you'll excuse me, Taiki was right and I actually do have to talk to Yaten or she will be sulking for days, and that's always a complete pain. Michiru – always a pleasure to see you. Goodnight."

* * *

"I understand why you did it now," Michiru said on the quiet drive back. "The way Setsuna said Taiki's name, and how hurt Taiki was by whatever happened at the party…It's love, isn't it?"

Haruka let out a breath. "Oh yeah," she agreed. "It's love."

"Then why do I have this terrible sense of unease?"

"I don't know, but I have it too."

Reaching into her bag, Michiru pulled out her Mirror and looked into its silvery surface. Whatever she saw made her turn it face down on her lap quickly.

"What did it show you?" asked Haruka curiously.

"Setsuna and Taiki."

"What, you mean – what they're doing right now? _That_?"

"I think it was Setsuna's bedroom I saw, so it's not showing me what's happening now. But they were…"

"Yeah, I get the idea." Haruka frowned into the dark, sleety night outside the windscreen. "So the bad feeling is something to do with them. Maybe I shouldn't have taken Setsuna to see Taiki after all."

"Yes you should," said Michiru. "You were right in everything you said to her. Her reasons for wanting to stop weren't legitimate. As soon as she saw Taiki her resolve crumbled. I don't think it was even personal pride over not wanting to apologise for whatever she did."

"So _what_ then?"

"We'll have to wait and hope she tells us."

"You think she will?"

"Whatever she's struggling with, I think she'll tell us once she's made a decision about it. That's what she tends to do."

"Yeah I guess. I figured it out, by the way."

"Figured what out?"

"What you were thinking about the other night – all that stuff about Christmas Eve."

"Did you?" said Michiru in an interested voice, the sort that meant that Haruka should actually stop talking. She kept talking anyway.

"The news was everywhere that December, so I'm guessing Christmas Eve must have been the night you—"

"You don't need to spell it out, Haruka."

Haruka glanced away from the road to examine Michiru's stiff profile. "Mine happened about a month after that," she admitted. "On my birthday." There was more regret in her voice than she expected.

"Because you'd heard about me?"

"Pretty much."

Michiru relaxed a little. "Idiot," she murmured.

"I know."


	4. Chapter 4

Screw it, Setsuna thought, screw everything. It was one more night of keeping loneliness at bay, and the price wouldn't be any worse than what she was already going to pay.

Taiki was staring at her, looking alarmed and a little defensive and like she was half considering wrenching her arm out of Setsuna's grip.

This was actually the first time Setsuna had been in Taiki's room. She'd visited the flat before, briefly, but it was much smaller than the house she shared with Haruka and Michiru, so going back to Setsuna's place had always seemed the more logical choice.

The bedroom was spare and simple; just a neatly made bed, a small desk, a chest of drawers and a closet. But then, it would be like that since this wasn't really Taiki's home. Setsuna suddenly wondered what it was like where Taiki lived on Kinmoku. She'd never asked before.

"I'm sorry for what happened at the party," she blurted in a rush. "I know that you and Seiya and Yaten aren't a threat. If I wasn't sure, I never would have asked you to be my lover. I only reacted that way because – Because the Princess and every other soldier besides me on this world awoke very young and very inexperienced with horrible memories of pain and death and nearly every time someone from another world did seek us out, it was only to try and destroy us. My behaviour was a knee-jerk defense mechanism. A stupid, unnecessary one."

"So why didn't you say any of this earlier today?" Taiki asked in a baffled voice.

"Because I was…Trying to convince myself to let you go."

"Why?"

"Because in the future there's something I might have to do, that would mean—" Setsuna stopped, biting her lip. She hadn't meant to say that.

"The future?" said Taiki softly. She removed the one headphone still plugged into her ear and slid her iPod out of her pocket, placing it on the empty desk. In her eyes lurked the deep purple shadows of twilight. "Has it occurred to you, Setsuna, that in two years' time my future might be to return to my world and die trying to save the last of my people?"

"Yes, I have thought about that. But you'll find the Crystal before it happens."

Grateful warmth flickered in the small smile Taiki gave her. "Maybe – my point is, none of us can know for sure what's going to happen in the future. Not even you. Worrying about what might be isn't a reason to stop living now."

She brushed her hand over Setsuna's cheek, and wherever she touched Setsuna felt the fire of stars burning against her skin.

"Then you still want to continue this?" Setsuna whispered, a slight tremble passing through her knees.

Taiki stepped closer. "My bed is quite comfortable," she promised, murmuring into Setsuna's ear.

Ignoring the heat that prickled in her belly, Setsuna pushed Taiki back. "I'm sure it is, but first – will you tell me, Taiki? About what world you lost and why it still causes you so much pain?"

For a moment Taiki looked away, a shutter falling over her face; soon followed by a swathe of smooth hair.

Setsuna tucked the long strands back behind her ear just as she'd done the first time she invited Taiki home with her.

"Taiki?"

After a long, thick silence, Taiki met her eyes again. "It wasn't what I lost," she said finally. "It was who."

* * *

A few days later at Hikawa Shrine, Minako stood absently in Rei's kitchen holding a knife poised over a half chopped up carrot, staring out at the sullen grey sky. Bustling back into the kitchen, Rei said with an annoyed exclamation, "Minako! What are you doing? You're meant to be helping me cook dinner for Usagi and Mamoru and Makoto and Ami! We'll never be ready on time if you don't get a move on."

"Yeah," said Minako distractedly, cutting another few slices of carrot and then stopping with a frown. "We haven't seen the Outers much lately, have we?"

"I guess not, but that's not so unusual. And Michiru's only just come back from being away."

"And we haven't seen much of the Starlights either, since they've been here."

"What are you getting at Minako?"

"Well, anything could have been happening between the two groups, couldn't it? And we wouldn't know about it. And because both teams are weirdly secretive, they probably wouldn't tell us."

"Are you talking about Haruka and Seiya? The diplomatic disaster just waiting to happen?"

"I wasn't thinking about them. I was thinking something might be going on…Between Setsuna and Taiki."

"Setsuna and Taiki?"

"Yeah. I kind of got this vibe off them at the Christmas Party…Like, maybe they'd been sleeping together."

Rei laughed out loud. "Are you serious? Setsuna and Taiki? No way! Your love detector is way off."

"But if something _were_ going on," Minako persisted, "we wouldn't know, would we? Even if they have been going round together, it's not like we've seen enough of them to realise it."

"Okay, but even if they are having some kind of clandestine love affair – which, just to be clear, is the craziest thing I've ever heard – so what? Isn't that their business?"

"Is it so crazy?" Minako wondered. "They're both super smart, they're both insanely dedicated to their duty as sailor soldiers, they're both kind of…reserved and mysterious. They might go well together."

"Minako," said Rei firmly. "Don't go sticking your nose in. Leave the poor women alone."

"But aren't you _curious_ about—"

"No."

"But we could just try—"

"No."

Minako pouted. "You're no fun," she sighed.

* * *

As the new year came, still Setsuna lingered. First Hotaru and Chibiusa came back to visit for Hotaru's birthday, and then it was Haruka's birthday, and then there was still the matter of the Sacred Crystal. Setsuna decided after all to try and see the mystery solved before she left, because (or so she told herself) if the Crystal was found, Taiki would naturally return to Kinmoku and her relationship with Setsuna would come to an end all on its own. Setsuna wouldn't have to be the one to do it, and Taiki wouldn't get hurt.

And so Setsuna began her own obsessive researches into the Crystal, consulting all the records held at the Mansion, writing programs to search through references on the internet, investigating the unfamiliar History shelves at the library of the university where she still held a science research fellowship.

She found nothing. And the timeline continued to be the quietest she'd ever seen it. Aside from that one small disturbance before Christmas that had disappeared without a trace, it looked like plain sailing for everyone all the way to Crystal Tokyo.

From that, Setsuna could only conclude once again that even if the Sacred Crystal was important for the survival of Kinmoku, whether it was found or not would ultimately have no bearing on the destiny of Earth.

That in itself should have been enough to convince her to let go, but still she didn't, and then suddenly it was Valentine's Day, which Setsuna completely forgot.

Taiki didn't, despite the fact that it was an Earth tradition. She also didn't seem quite sure they were meant to be celebrating it, and slipped some chocolates to Setsuna in a plain brown paper bag with all the furtiveness of handing her forbidden explicit goods from beneath the counter.

"Chocolates?" Setsuna said blankly, not even getting it. "Why choc—Oh. Oh Taiki, I didn't even think of it. I'm sorry."

"It doesn't matter," said Taiki, laying herself down uninvited on Setsuna's bed. "But why are there rose petals all over the house?"

"Hmm? Oh yeah. The rose petals. That sort of happens sometimes. Kind of a hazard of living with Haruka and Michiru."

"Are they here?"

Setsuna thought about it. "I don't think so. I vaguely recall Michiru mentioning something the other day about going away to a fancy hotel for a night or two. It didn't really make sense to me at the time, but yes, this Valentine's Day thing…I guess that was the reason."

"What have you been doing that's taken up so much of your attention?"

"Researching your missing Crystal. I haven't found much."

"Setsuna, you don't have to do that."

"I know. I wanted to do it." Snapping her laptop shut and leaving it sitting on top of the small desk she kept in her room, Setsuna spun in her chair and checked the bedside clock. "One in the morning? How did you even get in, Taiki? Weren't the doors locked?"

"Well, they were…"

Taiki hesitated, and Setsuna tilted her head questioningly.

"The thing is – Haruka actually gave me a key sometime back in January."

" _Haruka_ did?"

"Yeah. She was kind of weird about it. She scowled a lot but then said she wanted me to know she approved of our relationship. And then she gave me a house key, which I've never really needed to use anyway, but tonight I thought I'd stop by, and I saw there was a light on in your room, and I didn't want to knock in case Haruka and Michiru were sleeping, so…"

Damn Haruka and her interfering ways. It was almost like she guessed what Setsuna was planning to do and kept trying to thwart her at every turn.

Hiding her dis-ease, however, Setsuna gave Taiki a smile. "Well, it's good to know Haruka is finally learning how to make friends. It's certainly taken her long enough."

"That strange conversation I've described was meant to be an overture of friendship?"

"Believe it or not. And thank you for the chocolates. I should have remembered and gotten you a gift too."

"I don't need anything, other than to be here with you. That's…It's really more than enough, Setsuna."

In the low lamplight, Taiki's eyes glimmered like stars, and her sweater was rucked up slightly over her low slung jeans so that Setsuna could see a hint of bare stomach and one hip. One arm was flung over her head while her other hand lightly (and seemingly absently) stroked her own thigh, and she smiled impishly as she noted Setsuna following the movement.

She was making it pretty obvious what she'd come for, and Setsuna knew she wasn't going to send her away. Already she could feel her own desire rising in response to Taiki's want, and after a brief struggle with herself she abandoned her desk and forgot about the chocolates and joined Taiki in bed, her own hand replacing Taiki's on her thigh. Taiki kissed her warmly with a gasp, impatiently dragging Setsuna's hand higher.

Setsuna had no intention of going fast though; not tonight of all nights. She'd already decided this was the last time. It had to be. There was no future for either of them in the realm of planet Earth. All they were was two burning fragments drawn to one another by chance in the vastness of time and space, and soon enough they'd be swept apart by the forces of a universe beyond their control.

She only brushed against Taiki before moving her hand away again, whispering, "I want to go slowly," and though Taiki quivered beneath her for a moment in defiance, she eventually relaxed back into the mattress with a murmured, "okay," and let Setsuna go as slow as she wanted.

Into every kiss and brush of fingertips Setsuna coded a lingering goodbye that Taiki wouldn't understand until it was too late, their clothes in a heap on the floor, Taiki ending up near incoherent with arousal long before Setsuna was even ready to touch her and spread out beneath her in delicious abandon. Taiki pressed into her hand with eager expectation when Setsuna finally reached between her legs, but Setsuna only skimmed over her in a way meant to provoke more than satisfy, taking advantage of her up-thrust hips to slide two fingers into her easily. As she felt herself being entered, Taiki cried more loudly than Setsuna had ever heard before, her whole body bucking as Setsuna began to move inside her, still with that same tortuously deliberate pace.

"You _do_ like it slow tonight," Setsuna teased, angling her eyes down to watch Taiki's face. Feeling her gaze, Taiki opened her eyes, and Setsuna's heart jolted at her expression, open and trusting and hazy with lust.

"Setsuna…"

"Shh," said Setsuna, lowering her head so that Taiki wouldn't see what was in _her_ eyes, bridling silently at the injustice of it, of only having found her now, when it was too late. If they'd met earlier, they could have had years, decades maybe, but perhaps that wouldn't have been better. No matter how much time they had, it could never be enough.

Even with the addition of Taiki, Setsuna knew she didn't have enough happy memories to make up for what awaited her at the Doors of Time, and sometimes the memories just made it worse anyway. In the end, she knew she'd survive only by pushing her entire human existence away and forgetting she'd ever been anyone but Pluto, bringing death to all who saw her.

With her mouth, she fell on Taiki hungrily, no longer in the mood for slow. Taiki parted her thighs even wider and strained into the quick strokes of Setsuna's tongue, just managing a strangled plea for more.

There was just the two of them, locked in an endless moment of time, warm in Setsuna's bed with the dark winter night outside and the jagged breaths of Taiki's pleasure tearing into the quiet of the room. If Setsuna could, she would have stretched this out so it never had to end, unhooked them from both past and future and had only this present, eternal, of feeling Taiki beneath her in a forgotten corner of the universe where the morning of Setsuna's last day on Earth would never have to dawn.

Tears beaded her eyes and Taiki was coming hard, pushing up further into Setsuna's mouth, contracting around her fingers, arching her body with a shuddering groan before collapsing back onto the mattress, flushed and panting and lost in afterglow.

"You're so beautiful," Setsuna whispered wonderingly, kissing her way up damp, trembling skin. "These last couple of months with you – every moment we've been together, I've been happy. I – I wanted you to know that."

Taiki's arms encircled her tightly as she slowly blinked open shimmering eyes, so close to Setsuna's own.

"Setsuna," she breathed, and Setsuna knew from the emotion in her voice what she was about to say. "I—"

"Don't," said Setsuna, stopping her with a finger to her lips.

She laid her head on Taiki's shoulder and closed her eyes, her heart wrung with pain, her own body still unsatisfied.

"Say it to me one day soon," she murmured, feeling the soft, reassuring brush of Taiki's hands across her back.

"Let me touch you too. I want to."

"Next time," Setsuna promised, even though it was never going to come.

After a considering pause, Taiki asked, "what's wrong, Setsuna? Why are you sad?"

Setsuna raised her head and forced herself to smile, stroking Taiki's cheek. "I'm not sad. I'm just so happy it hurts."

"I know you're wet," Taiki persisted, in a tone that would have been seductive were it not so serious. "I know you want to come. Why won't you—"

If Setsuna felt Taiki's hands on her even one more time, she knew she'd never keep her resolve to leave. But she couldn't say that, though nor could she entirely suppress her body's treacherous tremble as she imagined Taiki's fingers, Taiki's tongue, between her legs.

Desperate for some distraction, she said, "will you…I'd like to hear one of your poems, Taiki. Please. I want to hear your voice."

Not understanding, but still willing, Taiki began to whisper, her lips close to Setsuna's ear, her words smooth as the rush of a gentle waterfall.

And this time, it was Setsuna's language she spoke, until right at the end, when something caught in her throat as she finished in her own tongue, and Setsuna needed no translation to know what she'd just said.

The words Setsuna had asked her not to say. The words Setsuna was not free to hear. The words that settled her faster than ever that running was the only course of action.

* * *

Michiru was drowsing in a warm, pleasant half sleep when silver light shot out of her Mirror, jerking her inevitably into a world of wakefulness and destiny. Beside her, Haruka rolled over with an exclamation of disgust and burrowed further under the covers.

"Not now," she groaned, as Michiru reached for the Mirror.

Ignoring Haruka, Michiru sat up and looked into her Mirror's depths. It was showing her Setsuna again (thankfully clad in her dressing gown this time), standing by her bed and looking down at an apparently sleeping Taiki with an expression on her face that filled Michiru with dread.

If Michiru had to, she'd guess this moment probably followed on from what she'd caught a glimpse of on Christmas Day. And she was beginning to understand why her Mirror had wanted her to see it. As the images cleared, she said urgently, "Haruka, we have to get home."

"Right now?"

"I'm afraid so."

"How fast? It's going to take us the rest of the night to drive back to Tokyo."

Michiru titled her head, considering. Her hand hovered over the communicator on the bedside table and eventually picked it up. She pressed a sequence of buttons and waited.

"Mi-Michiru?" Setsuna's incredibly surprised voice asked after a moment.

"Don't do anything, okay Setsuna? Haruka and I are leaving right now and we'll be there by tomorrow morning."

There was a shocked, guilty silence. "You don't have to – Your weekend—"

Refusing to be distracted, Michiru persisted, "just promise me, okay?"

"…Okay," Setsuna finally said, before ending the call.

"You saw Setsuna and Taiki again?" Haruka asked.

"The focus was on Setsuna this time, but yes, Taiki was there too."

"What exactly do you think Setsuna is going to do? Why did you call her?"

"I caught a glimpse of an expression I've only seen on her face once before."

"When?"

"Just before she stopped time, when she sacrificed herself to save us from the helicopter crash."

"Oh crap," said Haruka. "What is she planning?"

"I don't know. That's why I told her to wait until we get there."

Haruka rolled onto her back. As she stared up at the ceiling, Michiru could see the dream of their weekend disintegrating in her eyes; the planned itinerary of fireworks and champagne and another two whole days in bed receding into the realm of the impossible.

"I'm sorry, Haruka. I'll make it up to you another time."

"Michiru." Haruka gave her a smile. "I have you beside me every day of my life. There's really nothing to make up for."

With that, they got up, showered, dressed and packed up quickly and after checking out in front of the sleepy and curious hotel staff, began the long drive home.


	5. Chapter 5

Setsuna was waiting for them outside the front of the house when Haruka and Michiru arrived. It was just before dawn, and an ominous thick mist was swirling all over the street. The slam of their car doors as Haruka and Michiru got out of the vehicle echoed like a shutter falling on the last day of a dying world, and Setsuna was looking at them with eyes so remote it was almost like she didn't know who they were.

"Where's Taiki?" Haruka asked.

Something glinted in Setsuna's eyes, a flash of warmth and recognition that brought her back from the brink of wherever she'd been. "Seiya and Yaten called her about another lead. She left a little while ago."

If Setsuna was wondering how Haruka knew Taiki had been there, she gave no sign of it. "We should go inside," she said, and went into the house without looking back.

The three soldiers sat at the kitchen table with the lights on while the mist went billowing past the windows and the wall clock chipped away patiently at the immensity of time.

"I'm sorry for interrupting your weekend," Setsuna said quietly, her gaze focused on the mists rather than her fellow senshi. "I wasn't planning to do it like this. I wasn't planning to go today, but last night…I realised that if I stay even one more day, I'll end up staying forever." She turned her eyes towards them suddenly, giving Michiru a look that was almost sharp. "You saw something in your Mirror, didn't you?"

Michiru nodded. "I saw you, and the expression you had on your face was the exact same one you were wearing all those years ago when you sacrificed yourself to save Haruka and I from that helicopter crash. Setsuna – what is it you're planning to do? Where do you have to go? Why do you keep shutting us out? Don't you know we want to help you?"

Setsuna gave both of them a mirthless smile. "Michiru, Haruka, come on. What can either of you do? You knew all along this was only temporary. You know it's my destiny to go back there."

"Back to the Doors of Time?" Haruka said sharply, feeling like some opponent had just slipped past her defenses and landed a punch in her gut. "Why? Why do you have to go back there? You've been away for years and nothing terrible has happened. I know you have to watch over the Doors, but is it really necessary to be there constantly?"

"Time is with me the way the wind and the sea are with you and Michiru. I know when anything approaches the Doors, long before it gets there. But that's not the only reason I have for going there."

"Setsuna," said Michiru, "even if you feel duty-bound to go back there, our Princess isn't going to make you. Explain to her how hard it is to be there, constantly alone. She'll release you; you know she will. Especially if you can still watch over the Doors from Earth."

"It doesn't matter what the Princess will or won't do. The orders I have supersede hers and all others."

"Whose orders?" Haruka wanted to know.

Setsuna might not have heard the question, for all the attention she paid to it. "I didn't remember what it was like when I took this up last time. I remembered the promise, but not what awaited me. I actually went willingly." She laughed harshly. "What a fool. But I know better now. It will be the same in the future as it was in the past, and I…I just won't exist anymore."

She finished in a hopeless whisper.

"You do exist, Setsuna," Michiru insisted, taking her hand. "You'll always exist to us. We don't want you to go. And what about Hotaru? How can you not say goodbye to her?"

"I'll be in the future if Hotaru wants to find me at the Doors. She won't even have time to miss me."

"I still want to know whose orders," Haruka repeated in an ominous voice.

Setsuna sighed and Haruka could see the shadows of the long-lost Moon Kingdom in her eyes. "It was the last order Queen Serenity gave me before she died."

Haruka's anger flared before she could contain it. "I knew it!" she burst out. "Why are you still following her orders? You don't owe her anything, Setsuna. Especially not this. Not your life. We already lived in chains and died for her once."

Looking sad rather than angry, Setsuna said quietly, "I might agree with you, Haruka, if I didn't know how much the Queen's last sacrifice cost her."

She waited a beat, then went on, "she spent herself utterly in saving the souls of as many living beings as she could on all of our planets, on sending all of us forward into this world where we could be reborn free. She did it because she knew it was the right thing to do, even though it meant she had to give up the one thing she wanted more than anything – the chance to be reunited with her daughter. And that's why, right at the end, just before I was drawn to Saturn, she contacted me and asked me to watch over the Doors and to safeguard her daughter's future. It was her dying wish. And it's because she gave her life for all of us that I can't refuse to honour that request. Don't you see that?"

"But you can watch the Doors from here," said Michiru. "Why isn't that good enough?"

"Because that isn't what the Queen asked me to do." Setsuna stared down at her hand, still clasped in Michiru's. "The world back then; it _needed_ a sacrifice to start again, and Saturn and Neptune and Uranus and Pluto were the ones who were chosen for that because we were the ones who were strong enough to bear it. I know it wasn't fair. I know it was a miserable end to a harsh existence. But didn't she make up for it by giving the two of you what you'd always wanted? The chance to be always at each other's sides?"

"And what reward did she give you, Setsuna?" Haruka asked. "Unending duty and loneliness?"

"Someone has to watch over the world," Setsuna whispered, and there was more misery in her eyes than Haruka could ever remember seeing.

Switching abruptly to an entirely different track, Michiru said, "did you meet Taiki in the other timeline? The one where you didn't remember what being at the Doors was like?"

"In that timeline everything was different. We never met the Starlights."

Setsuna's reply was short. She pulled free of Michiru's grasp and folded her hands in her lap; her expression extra inscrutable. It was rare for her to tell them things about the other timeline (or perhaps timelines? Haruka sometimes wondered whether there was more than one) she'd experienced before this one happened, and she probably didn't want to talk about Taiki either. That didn't put Michiru off.

"Have you even told her you're leaving?" she asked softly.

The look Setsuna gave her was answer enough.

"Setsuna," said Haruka reprovingly. "That's not fair to Taiki. You know it isn't."

"I've been lying to her from the start. I knew all along my time here was nearly up. What could I possibly say to make up for that?"

"The truth?" suggested Michiru.

"What? That I only got with her to have a last fling before leaving humanity behind forever? Wouldn't it be kinder not to tell her that?"

"Is that what you were doing with her?" Michiru said.

Sounding like she didn't know herself, Setsuna asked despairingly, "what else could it be?"

Haruka might have leapt in with the obvious at that point if Michiru hadn't touched her knee under the table, giving her a wordless request to hold off for a bit.

Letting out a breath instead, Haruka left her partner to it.

Circling around the subject, Michiru revealed to Setsuna, "I've been seeing you and Taiki in my Mirror lately. I saw the two of you last night."

"That was private, Michiru." Setsuna's voice sounded like Michiru had touched a raw wound, and her face was a strange, dull red that looked more like shame than embarrassment.

"The _Mirror_ was showing me. I didn't go looking. And god, it's not like I sat there watching. But aren't you wondering why I'm seeing you and Taiki in the Mirror at all? Because I certainly am."

"Who knows? Maybe it means the Starlights are enemies after all."

"It's not showing me the Starlights. It's showing me the two of you. I'm being warned about something, and I don't think it's the danger of you and Taiki being together; I think it's the danger of you breaking up like this. Leaving is a mistake, Setsuna. I'm sure of it. It's going to have bad consequences for our world, and maybe Taiki's world as well."

Setsuna met Michiru's eyes stubbornly. "The timeline is the most peaceful it's ever been. That's why I'm going now. If there was danger, I'd stay. Taiki has no relevance to any of this."

"She's relevant because you've _made_ her relevant. Ever since the first night you took her home. This isn't the Silver Millennium, and it's not some other past and it's not the future where you leaving has already happened. This is the present where you've chosen someone, and whatever you're telling yourself, Setsuna, you wouldn't have done that if you didn't feel something for her. Probably far more than you want to admit."

"Even if that's true, it doesn't change anything."

Haruka could just hear the strain of frustration beginning to enter Michiru's voice. "It changes things because it's never happened before. Things are different now. It will change the future because it's changed _you_."

"We may still be Outer Soldiers," Haruka added, "but we're not the same as we were back then. We can't be alone all the time. Remember when I tried it? I nearly lost my Talisman to an enemy. _Hotaru_ , for goodness sakes, the once feared soldier of destruction, is involved with the future heir to the throne of Crystal Tokyo. We're living in a different world, Setsuna. One where the old rules don't apply. All you have to do is—"

"What, Haruka?" asked Setsuna icily. "Let go of my honour? Let go of the promise I made to our Queen?"

" _Adapt_ , Setsuna. You need to adapt to the way things are now, and see your promise in light of that. I know it's harder for you; you didn't get to grow up in this world the way Michiru and I and everyone else did. You weren't reincarnated like we were…Not in this timeline, anyway. The Silver Millennium isn't a half forgotten dream to you. But you can't base your actions on the code of a dead world. It doesn't fit. Michiru's right. There'll be bad consequences if you do this."

"There were no bad consequences last time. It was the right thing to do. If I hadn't of been watching the Doors, who would have helped Sailor Moon and the others save Neo-Queen Serenity in the future?"

"This time is not last time," said Michiru. "Or any other time for that matter. Just focus on _this_ reality for once. Aren't Haruka and I…Aren't we enough for you? Haven't you been happy here with us?"

Michiru was still holding onto her composure with an iron will, but it was going to break at any moment. Already there were tears starting to glisten in her eyes.

"Oh Michiru," whispered Setsuna. "I never thought I'd get to have anything like what I've shared with you and Haruka and Hotaru all these years. If I could – If there was a way—"

"We're telling you there is, but you're not going to listen to us, are you?"

Setsuna smiled sadly and shook her head.

"What about," Haruka knew she was casting desperately, but she tried anyway, aware of Michiru's hand finding hers under the table as she spoke, "what about that disturbance you mentioned before Christmas? Maybe there _is_ something…"

"It's gone, Haruka, and it was only very minor to begin with."

Haruka didn't think she'd ever seen Setsuna look quite the way she did then, as she gazed at both her and Michiru with warmth and regret and longing overflowing, as her eyes lingered, and kept lingering, in a way that said she was implanting every detail of this moment into her memory because she knew she'd never see either of them again.

Softly, she said, "take care of each other, okay? You'll be the only two Outer Soldiers left in this time."

Haruka's voice was rough when she replied, and she scowled because if she didn't she knew the whirlwind of grief spinning faster and faster in her chest would come ripping right out of her. "Michiru and I can take care of each other just fine, but who's going to take care of you, Setsuna?"

Setsuna looked away, and she stood, and she was no longer Setsuna but Pluto, garnet rod in hand, and when she looked back at them the depth of sadness in her expression tore at Haruka's heart. It reminded her too much of her own dimly remembered lonely past, when all too often the vastness of space and the gleam of the distant stars were her only companions.

"I can't be Setsuna anymore. Her time is over. Please don't…" For a moment, Setsuna's voice nearly wobbled. "Please don't feel bad for me. I knew from the start it would be like this. I still wouldn't change it. Not a thing. Not one moment of what we've shared together in this world. I'll always be grateful I had this; that we finally got to be a family together."

As Haruka stumbled clumsily out of her chair, still feeling like this couldn't really be happening, she felt the rush of power that meant her own transformation was starting, and she could sense something nearby; an immense concentration of energy that was almost certainly another dimension opening next to their own.

There was the distant roaring of the ocean and the sharp smell of salt and Neptune beside her, almost leaping to her feet, shaking, fists nearly slamming into the table as Pluto gave them one last smile and turned her back and walked away.

"Haruka this is crazy," Michiru breathed, her hair falling forward as her shoulders slumped in agonized defeat.

"I know." Haruka leaned into Michiru, placing a gloved hand around her waist, wanting her warmth, needing to touch her as Pluto turning and walking away from them replayed itself in slow-motion in her mind, and she felt like she'd never get this moment out of her head; seeing Pluto's heavy green hair swaying behind her as she turned, the stubborn set of her shoulders, the white glow of her uniform and the black shine of her skirt, the pale tightness of her fingers as she gripped her staff.

And it was all made worse because some barely-acknowledged part of Haruka couldn't help but be glad it wasn't her; that it wasn't her losing Michiru and her family and her world; that she wasn't the one upon whom that fate had fallen.

"We can't stop her," Haruka whispered. "Not now. Maybe she'll realise later…"

Michiru gave a slight, painful nod. "We should go and say a proper goodbye to her. She can't go like this."

The glass doors at the back of the house that normally opened onto the garden right now showed the way to a swirling grey world of mist that was most certainly not part of any Earthly reality.

"Pluto!"

About to step over the threshold into the mists, Pluto stiffened and paused, turning almost unwillingly at Michiru's voice.

Launching herself into Pluto's arms with a sob, Michiru hugged her tightly. "We love you," she whispered fiercely. "Don't forget that."

"And—" Haruka's voice closed for a moment as she joined them. "You can come back at any time. You can," she insisted as Pluto gave her a sceptical look. "We'll always be here. We're family."

"I know." Pluto's eyes shimmered with unshed tears as she brushed a hand over Haruka's cheek, as she kissed Michiru. "I love both of you. So much." Then, slowly, inexorably, she began to extricate herself from their arms, leaving them holding onto each other as she stepped alone towards the mists.

Michiru curled into Haruka miserably, shaking with tears and shock, and Haruka barely heard her say, "this is so unfair to the others. Not even to say goodbye to them. Not even to Taiki."

No, it wasn't fair. It wasn't even right. Pluto shouldn't have done it like this. She shouldn't have done it at all, but she was perhaps being especially cruel to the woman whose heart she had so recently won. Pluto had convinced herself she could simply cut Taiki out and leave her behind, but Haruka knew from personal experience how doomed that strategy was to failure.

And it seemed like Michiru's Mirror knew it too.

Something more was going to come of this; had perhaps already been set in motion. And Pluto, who should have known that better than any of them, seemed to be the most oblivious of all.

* * *

"This is not the Sacred Crystal, Healer." Fighter said it disgustedly, turning the large glowing crystal she was holding this way and that in her hand. "It's just a lump of quartz. Is this what you dragged us down into this miserable hole for?"

Before Healer could reply, Eternal Sailor Moon materialized out of nowhere and grabbed Taiki's arm. "Sailor Star Maker – Come with me. Quickly."

They were gone almost instantly, leaving Healer and Fighter to stare at each other in consternation.

"Well that can't be good," Healer opined.

"Definitely not good," agreed Fighter, throwing down the glowing lump of quartz. "Let's get out of here. I have a feeling we're going to be needed.

* * *

"Sailor Pluto!"

Hearing the note of command in the Princess's voice, Pluto halted reluctantly on the threshold of what had once been her home and half-turned back, seeing Neptune and Uranus still looking lost in each other's arms, and beside them the obviously newly arrived Princess, blazing with indignation and determination.

Pluto's heart twisted oddly when she saw Sailor Star Maker was there too, hanging back uncertainly with confusion in her eyes.

"Pluto." The Princess spoke like she expected to be heeded. "I know what you're doing and you _can't_ okay, you just can't. I'm ordering you not to leave."

"Leave?" echoed Star Maker, a pinched look of betrayal distorting her flawless features. "Setsuna, what is Sailor Moon talking about?"

Hearing her civilian name on her lover's lips stirred things in Pluto she couldn't afford to remember; being tangled naked with Taiki only hours before, being tempted to lose herself in the world Taiki had created for both of them with the skillful whispers of her poet's tongue.

"I'm sorry, Princess," Pluto said, deliberately ignoring Taiki's presence. "This time, the orders that I have outrank even yours. Letting me go is the only choice you have."

"And you weren't even going to say goodbye?" Stepping closer, Sailor Star Maker forced Pluto to acknowledge her, the steady gaze of her amethyst eyes as compelling and demanding as the call of the mist.

When Pluto tried to turn away, Star Maker caught her hand, not letting her go, her eyes still demanding an answer. And meanwhile, the longer they stood there, the more uncomfortably aware Pluto was becoming of Moon and Uranus and Neptune watching.

"Come with me," she finally murmured, pulling Star Maker after her into the grey swirling mists that had once been all she'd known.

The infinite paths through time and space welcomed Pluto like she'd never been away. She could feel the Doors so very close, forever tempting her with a million different ways to lose herself, in pasts and futures and the dream shadows of worlds that had never been more than a gleam in the eye of the galaxy.

But there was no place, perhaps, that held as much pathos for her as the ancient ruined Castle on the Moon, and that was where she went with Taiki, their boots kicking up silver dust and leaving footprints that would last longer than a human lifetime.

"Are we on Earth's Moon?" Star Maker asked, her voice hushed as she looked up at the great ravaged dome that had once lain at the heart of Queen Serenity's realm.

"There was a glittering kingdom of light here once," Pluto said softly, remembering halls filled with the laughter of those who had perished a thousand years ago. "And now there is only darkness, and silence. I failed in my duty to protect this world. I can't let the same thing happen again. That's why I have to leave. I have to go back to the Doors of Time. It's only from there I can watch. "

"And you knew this all along? Right from the beginning?"

"I told you, Taiki. On Christmas Day. I told you there was something I might have to do…"

"You made it sound like it was years in the future!" Star Maker snapped angrily. "Why was your Princess telling you not to go? And what about Uranus and Neptune? How can you just abandon them like that? I'd never do that to Fighter and Healer. It seems like you've just decided this yourself without consulting anyone."

"The others can't understand. Not even Uranus and Neptune. They hardly remember what it was like when we were nothing but warriors. It's different for me. I'm the one senshi left from that ancient time. I'm the only one who can do this."

"Pluto," Star Maker said it like a caress, reaching for Pluto with a gloved hand and looking into her eyes with an intensity of feeling Pluto could hardly bear to see, "you know what I said to you last night, don't you?"

Pluto flicked her eyes away and winced like she'd been stung. "I know. But I'm not free to answer."

"If you weren't free, why did you invite me into your bed in the first place?"

"I shouldn't have," Pluto whispered. "It was wrong. I'm sorry. I didn't expect any of this to happen."

"But it has. And you're just going to pretend that nothing has changed?"

Star Maker's words too closely echoed Michiru's.

Pulling free of Star Maker's grip, Pluto stared down at the blue sphere of Earth, knowing that down there her friends were grieving, mourning her loss, and knowing also that the place she'd occupied in the world had never really been hers to begin with. Her life as Setsuna was just something she'd borrowed, a costume to wear until her true purpose reasserted itself.

Without turning, she said to Star Maker, "on your world, you were born a senshi, weren't you? You weren't born human. You know there are some duties that can't be ignored. Promises that must be kept at any cost."

"Being born a senshi – coming from a world that has humans and senshi both – what I know is that the two are more closely connected than you think, Setsuna."

There was a quiet rebuke in Star Maker's voice, and an unspoken reminder of what she'd told Setsuna on Christmas Day. Setsuna gritted her teeth as Taiki – for a moment she couldn't think of her in any other way – drew close to her again, the scent of sweet olive a dangerous temptation offering Pluto a life she knew she could never have.

"You can't just cut part of yourself out," said Taiki with quiet certainty. "That's not how this works."

"The part of me that's dying was never really alive, Star Maker. Just like when you go back to Kinmoku, Taiki will cease to be."

Even without looking, she felt the surprise in the glance Star Maker cast her way. "Taiki exists on Kinmoku, Setsuna. She always has. She's a poet and a stargazer and a fighter."

Pluto started. "I thought…"

"You thought we didn't have civilian lives?"

"Well." Pluto smiled at her wryly. "None of us did before. I suppose I thought it was like that everywhere, and that what happened on Earth was an anomaly."

"We were born differently from the soldiers of Earth. We live differently. But we're still more than warriors. And so are you. You don't need to do this, Pluto. Your friends don't even want you to do it. Doesn't that tell you that maybe you should rethink this?"

"Why do you care so much?" said Pluto, rounding on Star Maker angrily because she was afraid if this went on for much longer her resolve might indeed be worn down. Why wouldn't those around her understand? Why couldn't they just let her go?

"Because I don't want to see anyone else die. I don't want to see the sadness on the faces of those left behind. I don't want the ghost of another person haunting me." Star Maker reached out, again, and Pluto had to use every ounce of strength she had not to respond to the entreaty in her voice. "I want you to stay here with me. If you didn't want this, if you didn't want me to fight for you, you should never have invited me to be your lover in the first place."

Being as distant and cold as she could, Pluto responded, "do you really think _you_ can change anything for me when my own family couldn't? Do you think you're that special to me?"

Star Maker wasn't fooled. "If I wasn't special, you wouldn't have looked at me twice. You wouldn't have bothered. Not even if all you wanted was a one night stand." Holding a hand out in front of her wonderingly, she said, "after the ravages of Galaxia, I learned what it really means to have the power of making, Pluto. I recreated the stars in our sky, the sun and the moon that watch over us. I know better than anyone there's possibility everywhere, even when it seems hopeless. The future's not the fixed path you think it is."

"You would lecture me on the complexities of time?" Pluto laughed. "Every day I see a thousand possibilities branching off into a million different destinations. But sooner or later, there's only one ultimate end. Do you know why I know that? Because all my powers come from the world of the dead. No matter what path you take, sooner or later it will end in death. Everything dies. Stars, planets, galaxies. We stand upon the ruins of a dead world now."

"You and I are not dead yet, Setsuna, and nor are our feelings. Ending this because we might one day die makes no sense. I've told you that before."

"But why put myself through something that I know will one day lead to pain? What's the point of that?"

For the first time, there was something hard in Star Maker's voice. "If avoiding pain was your desire, it's probably too late. For both of us."

It hurt Pluto, yet it was relief to finally hear it, because she knew if Star Maker was talking to her like that it meant she was finally starting to win.

"We have things called nursery rhymes on Earth," she said softly, turning her eyes back to the planet she'd sworn to protect. "Old poems we tell to lull children into sleep. There's one about Babylon, an ancient city that stands in ruins now. It goes:

 _How many miles to Babylon?_  
_Three score and ten._  
_Can I get there by candle-light?_  
_Yes, and back again._  
_If your heels are nimble and light,_  
_You may get there by candle-light._

"Only the candles burned out and we lost the way, and now Babylon is a place that can never be reached. But one day a new Silver Millennium will rise. It doesn't matter that it's a world I'll never see. As long as I find a way to make sure the others cross the long miles to Babylon…"

"Cutting yourself out of the world is not the best way to accomplish that, Pluto."

"It's not the best way. But it's the only way that's going to work. Human existence is just…Lost to me, Taiki. There's a great many things that have always been lost to me."

She kissed Taiki gently, one last time, touched her face and wondered at her warmth, at the deep glimmer of galaxies in her eyes. And then Pluto raised her staff and sent her back, ignoring the half-formed plea on her lips, ignoring the pain in her own heart.

The Doors were calling her and she had not far to go, and when she reached them, there was the silence that haunted her nightmares, and the grey half-world of the mists, and she took up her station and she was alone.

* * *

Michiru was crying on the couch and Haruka was sitting like a stunned fish beside her. Usagi stood at the glass doors leading into the garden, staring anxiously into the fast dissipating mists, and as she watched Star Maker came hurtling out of the greyness to land squarely on top of her.

Both of them slowly struggled upright.

"You couldn't stop her?" Usagi asked.

Star Maker shook her head, wondering how Usagi had even known about their relationship, and who else knew if she did.

"Haruka…Michiru…" Turning to her two remaining Outer Soldiers, Usagi looked at them with sorrow and compassion brimming in her eyes.

Haruka turned her head away sharply. Taiki could tell she was on the edge of tears herself, and that only her iron will was stopping it. "Could the two of you leave us alone for a bit?" she said hoarsely. "You know the way out."

Usagi was about to say something, but Taiki took her arm. "Of course." With Setsuna gone, Taiki had no right to stay here, no right to intrude into Haruka and Michiru's mourning. Though in some ways knowing those things, recognizing her own relative unimportance here, only made the hurt of her loss cut even deeper.

"I'm sorry," she whispered to Haruka and Michiru inadequately, and dragged Usagi out behind her.

It wasn't until she heard the front door slam that Haruka gave into her own tears.

The house around them was empty and far too quiet. Their family was gone.

"Haruka…" Michiru choked out, her voice wrung with grief.

"I know," Haruka replied softly, and did the only thing she could. She held her.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **Author's Note:** So yes, I have plans on where I'm going with this, but I've sort of run out of pre-written chapters now, and RL is starting to get busy again, so...This might require some patience. Sorry. I know I've left things on a bit of a cliffhanger.


	6. Chapter 6

A long time ago, Taiki had sworn that she was never going to find herself in this place again, trying to save someone who didn't want to be saved. And yet, what had it taken for her to fold? Not much. A few kisses, a few nights wrapped in another's embrace. An absurdly easy surrender.

Perhaps it was something to do with her powers. The power of creation that tormented her with all that could be. A power she'd been denying for too long in too many ways, maybe, as she made herself a stranger to love.

She could tell herself that was all it was. If she tried, she could convince herself that it was true and it might even be right. But did it really change anything? Did it make the desire she'd felt for Setsuna any less real? Her happiness in her company less authentic? The pain tugging at her heart any less likely to cripple her spirit?

The only thing left now was saving her world, and Setsuna had said that should be enough for a soldier, but Taiki wasn't that kind of soldier and she didn't want to be. What was a world without poetry, without meaning, without love? Why should that kind of world be saved? Why was Setsuna so intent on saving a world that demanded she give up her life?

Why was it that Taiki could feel something different, another outcome, lingering so close yet forever beyond reach? Why hadn't she been able to find the right words when it mattered?

Everything about the night before; the way Setsuna touched her, spoke to her, the way she contrarily denied herself. It all should have been obvious.

And now, because she hadn't worked it out, Taiki would never get the chance to touch her again.

She could still feel the bitter sting of that last kiss on her lips as she entered the flat she shared with the other two Starlights. Almost as soon as she was through the front door Seiya and Yaten accosted her, wanting to know what had happened, but she waved away their questions and went into her room, vainly hoping to be left alone.

She threw herself down onto her bed and got maybe half a minute before her teammates followed her in after only the most perfunctory of knocks.

They looked down at her wearing twin expressions of worry, Yaten standing slightly in front of Seiya with Seiya's hand resting on her shoulder. Things like that so rarely happened without some show of protest on Yaten's part that either both of them were too distracted to notice or feeling too anxious to care.

"Taiki," said Seiya, her voice soft and worried, "is it that bad? Has something happened to Setuna? Is that why Sailor Moon came and got you?"

Taiki snorted in bitter amusement, blinking fiercely to stop herself from crying. "You could say something's happened to her, I suppose. She's left the Earth. For good. Apparently…" To Taiki's fury, she couldn't stop her voice from cracking, "she had to go to some other dimension where she can watch over the flow of time forever. That was always her destiny."

"And she didn't tell you?" Yaten asked, aghast.

Rolling away from them, Taiki shook her head, fast losing the battle against her tears. She grabbed a pillow to muffle the sound as she felt both Seiya and Yaten settling beside her, offering comforting touches that didn't help at all.

"What about Haruka and Michiru?" Seiya said in a strange voice. "Did they know about this?"

"I don't know," Taiki managed to get out, eyes squeezed shut in pain. "I think so. They were there at the house, but they didn't want her to leave. Neither did Sailor Moon."

Seiya's reaction was immediate. "Those damn Outer Soliders!" she burst out angrily. "I swear, they're the most emotionally screwed up senshi to ever be born. Seriously. What is their problem? What's with going round acting so superior all the time when they go and do shit like this? Who do they think they are?"

"Seiya," said Yaten's annoyed voice, "that's not helping!"

"What's not helping right now is the two of you being here like this," whispered Taiki, feeling awful even as she said it because it wasn't fair to put that on them, not when it had taken them so long to finally find each other and be happy.

There was a shocked, uncomfortable silence.

"Taiki," Seiya began, one hand moving anxiously to stroke through Taiki's hair, "we thought you were okay we this? We talked to you about it—"

"I am okay with it! Just…Not right now. Not in my face. Not when…" Not when she'd given herself so completely to Setsuna just hours before. Given herself because Setsuna had asked her to, with every touch and kiss. And maybe Setsuna had needed to do that so she'd have something to take with her into the mists, but she'd taken a chunk of Taiki with her and the edges of the wound were still raw and bleeding.

"You shouldn't be alone, Taiki," said Yaten worriedly.

Turning, Taiki gave her friends a watery smile. "I'm not alone. I know that. You and Seiya are right here. But I need some space to deal with this. Please."

Yaten looked at her uncertainly. Seiya's eyes were tortured. Finally, Yaten planted a kiss on Taiki's cheek, her hand warm on her shoulder. "We love you, Taiki. Don't forget that, okay? We'll be here if you need anything. _Anything_."

Seiya started, an expression flickering across her face that was distinctly unhappy. She smoothed it away quickly when she realised Taiki was watching her, and it was long gone by the time Yaten turned her large green eyes to see why Taiki was looking at Seiya so intently.

"What did I miss?" she asked suspiciously.

"Nothing," said Taiki. "It's a very thoughtful offer, Yaten. But…I don't think it would help me."

"Huh?" Yaten frowned at her, blinking in confusion.

"Yaten, we should give Taiki some space. That's what she asked for."

Seiya's voice was slightly strained, and Yaten gave her an odd look until comprehension suddenly dawned and she blushed fiercely. "Hang on, that's not what I—I was talking about bringing Taiki snacks in bed or something, not—"

"People don't talk about snacks in that kind of voice, Yaten!"

"You two just have minds that go weird places! Why would I think that the three of us randomly sleeping together would be a good idea? I mean, have we _ever_ had that kind of relationship before?"

"No," said Taiki, though she was aware that most of Yaten's annoyance was directed, rather unfairly, at Seiya. "But until six months ago, you and Seiya didn't have the kind of relationship that you do now either, and I know that you both worry I feel left out or unloved with how things have shifted. Hence why I thought maybe you were trying to…Make things better, in your own way."

"We should leave you alone," Seiya said, taking hold of Yaten's forearm and tugging her towards the door. "But we really are here if you need anything. Well, except maybe casual sex. Despite Yaten's seeming enthusiasm, I think that would be a bad idea all round."

"Oh, honestly." Yaten's voice was muffled as Seiya closed the door, finally leaving Taiki to herself, but Taiki could still hear her complaining extensively, apparently first of all about the insensitivity of Seiya's comment and then over the fact that Seiya had thought she'd even be willing to bring someone else into their bed, however close a friend.

Taiki actually found herself smiling at their antics, her heart a little lighter. The feeling lasted for about five seconds, until she glanced out of the window and saw the fog still hanging heavy in the air. Did that mean that Setsuna was somewhere nearby, watching her from the Doors of Time? Could she even do that? And even if she could, would she bother?

It would have been preferable to be able to hate her, to write her off as someone who'd just taken what she wanted without any regard for Taiki's feelings. And maybe, for all Taiki knew, that was all Setsuna had intended it to be. A one night stand. Her last taste of human comfort.

But almost as soon as it started, it had morphed into something else. Two strange, lonely soldiers finding each other in the most unlikely of ways and forging a connection neither of them expected. It should have been the beginning of so much more.

It should have been, but it wasn't.

Taiki's hands were itching, her fingers cramping. Makers weren't supposed to go without making, but how could she create if no one wanted her power?

A strange, sad premonition settled over her, one that she hoped was wrong. One that she certainly wasn't going to discuss with Seiya and Yaten.

She held up her hand and stared at it, watching the pulsing pink glow that couldn't touch, couldn't create, for Setsuna was far beyond her reach.

"We're not going to find the Crystal," she murmured, and outside, it began to rain.

* * *

Two days later, Seiya paced restlessly around the small living space of the apartment she shared with Yaten and Taiki, desperately searching for something to do. She'd already washed and put away all the dishes, done the laundry, vacuumed the floor and scrubbed out the bath, and…There just wasn't any more of the tiny apartment to clean.

For about the thousandth time, she checked the blank screen of her communicator device, and then her mobile phone. She was tempted to call Yaten again, but Yaten would just be annoyed at the interruption, not unreasonably, really.

A sudden knock at the door sent her running hopefully to fling it open. "Taiki? Yaten?" she burst out, a little wildly, and then hurriedly grabbed onto the doorframe to halt a forward trajectory that probably would have carried her right on into a collision course with the very last person she wanted to see right now.

Haruka looked like she was trying not to recoil from Seiya's forward rush. "I'm not either of them," she said unnecessarily, scowling at Seiya as though her very existence offended her. "Actually, I…Came to see how Taiki was doing. Michiru and I haven't heard from her."

Seiya crossed her arms belligerently. "Why would you hear from her?" she demanded. "You made it very clear she wasn't welcome at the Outer residence as soon as Setsuna was gone."

"Look, that's not what—"

A nearby apartment door opened to spill a young, happy-looking couple into the hallway. They were obviously heading out for the evening and gave Haruka and Seiya a curious glance as they passed. Haruka glared at them until they looked away and hurried their steps.

Seiya gave an inward sigh. The last thing she needed to be doing was giving the neighbours cause to complain.

"Come in," she said to Haruka, grudgingly. "We can't do this in the hall."

They stood facing each other in the cramped living room, Haruka flicking her eyes around the undeniably small apartment as if she wanted to ask what had happened to all the money they'd had from their days as superstars.

Actually, the three of them had given it all away before they left Earth last time. Money was an outdated concept on Kinmoku and they hadn't exactly planned on ever coming back to this rural little planet. Not that Seiya had any intention of telling Haruka why they were living here. Let her think whatever the hell she wanted.

"I guess Taiki and Yaten aren't here?" Haruka said.

"We don't know where Taiki is. She's been missing since yesterday. Yaten's out looking for her. I'm staying here in case she comes back, or…"

Seiya didn't finish. She didn't really want to think about all the scenarios that the 'or' might cover.

To her credit, Haruka actually looked concerned. "Do you need help searching?"

"We're fine," Seiya snapped. "Yaten and I can manage. That's not why I invited you in. I want to know what the hell you were doing, encouraging Taiki and Setsuna like that when you _knew_ Setsuna was leaving. Didn't you care about Taiki's feelings at all?"

Haruka's eyebrows shot up and her cheeks flushed angrily. "Of course I care about Taiki. Michiru and I didn't know Setsuna was leaving. We had no idea."

"No idea? You lived with her. She's your teammate. She's your friend who you've both known for years. Don't tell me you had no idea, Tenoh."

"All we knew was that something was worrying Setsuna. We didn't know what. We didn't imagine it would be this. Seriously Seiya, you think I'm happy right now? I didn't want Setsuna to leave. I didn't want Taiki to get hurt. I didn't want my family to fall apart."

Admittedly, Haruka didn't look happy. She looked strained and worried and as short on sleep as Seiya currently was.

And yet, she'd still known. Not everything perhaps, but something. And Seiya couldn't forgive her for that. Not after lying in bed two nights ago listening to Taiki try to muffle the sounds of her crying and then getting up the next day to find she was gone.

"Damn it, Tenoh, I said I'd blame you and I do! You were the one who came here on Christmas Day and shoved Setsuna and Taiki back together. You never should have done that if you had even the slightest doubt about Setsuna's commitment. Do you not remember me telling you when all this started that Taiki gets hurt easily? That Setsuna's intentions had better be honourable? Obviously they weren't. Right from the beginning, she was just using Taiki for her own ends."

"She wasn't using her!" Haruka insisted. "Setsuna had real feelings for Taiki. I know she did. That's why I—"

"So what if she had feelings!" Seiya yelled. "That didn't make her change her plans, did it? She didn't factor Taiki into what she was doing at all. She didn't even tell her. Feelings like that are completely meaningless." Almost repeating what she'd said the other day, she added in frustrated incomprehension, "what is it with you Outer Soldiers anyway? What do you think love is? A couple of years ago, didn't you nearly kill Michiru with your own sword? What sort of person _does_ that?"

Haruka's nostrils flared and went white. "Don't you dare bring Michiru into this!"

"Why not? Isn't it true? The way Minako tells it, you crippled Michiru so badly she could hardly fight. And then you blamed her for the whole thing!"

Something sprang into Haruka's eyes that looked like the pain of an old, forgotten wound starting to throb again. "Shut up, Seiya."

And Seiya really should have. Minako was already going to kill her for this, if Haruka didn't kill Minako first for telling her, and it wasn't even Haruka Seiya was angry at. Setsuna was the one who'd really caused this mess, but she was well beyond Seiya's reach and Haruka was the nearest target she had.

"What's this?" she taunted. "The great Uranus using the favoured retort of the school yard? Not much of a comeback."

Making a visible effort to control herself, Haruka said, "all of that is over and done with. I know I was wrong. I know I screwed up. Michiru nearly went and got herself killed because of how I treated her, and I've spent every day since then making up for what I did. And I know I didn't deserve to have her forgive me but she did anyway and I'll be damned if I let _you_ tell me I'm not good enough to have her!"

Seiya smirked. " _I'm_ not telling you that, but it sounds like maybe that's what your own heart tells you."

Haruka's fist moved so fast Seiya didn't see it until it was already slamming into her jaw. She reeled back a little at the force of the blow, feeling her own blood rising dangerously.

"Damn you," Haruka nearly growled, eyes dark with fury.

Her face throbbing, her lips curling back from her teeth, Seiya returned the punch, half expecting Haruka to block her. She definitely had the speed to do so if she felt like it. But she didn't even seem to want to try and avoid the fist that connected with her cheek; in fact it barely seemed to affect her and she gave Seiya an unsettling smile.

"Have I told you today that I hate you?" she said in a low, venom filled voice.

"Like I care! I won't forgive you for Taiki."

"The fact that I actually have some respect for Taiki is the only reason I'm not going to send you back home to your Princess in pieces."

"Try it, Tenoh. I dare you."

Haruka's transformation pen appeared in her hand at the same time as Seiya's brooch and mic. Seiya drew in a breath, about to speak the words that would begin her transformation, and saw Haruka do the same. What they were doing made absolutely no sense. Seiya didn't care one little bit.

They were both distracted from their intended showdown as the front door opened to admit a tired looking and disheveled Taiki. She froze when she saw Haruka and Seiya in the middle of the lounge room, a look of disbelief on her face.

"What the hell are you two doing?" she demanded.

Seiya wavered for a moment then set her expression stubbornly. "I'm defending your honour!"

"My honour?" Taiki slammed the apartment door angrily and deliberately moved to stand between Seiya and Haruka. "Did I ask you to defend my honour, Seiya? Do you think I _need_ you to? More to the point – how is any of this Haruka's fault? She's not responsible for Setsuna's actions. Don't make this about you and your stupid rivalry. Not if you have any respect for my feelings at all."

Beneath the anger, she was all too obviously hurt, her eyes seeming to ask Seiya how she could dare to centre her own feelings at a time like this.

"I'm sorry, Taiki. I just…You disappeared and we were so worried about you. I felt like I had to _do_ something."

"And goading Haruka into a fight seemed like a good idea?"

"You think Uranus is the sort of person who needs to be goaded into a fight? She's violent all on her own."

Taiki sighed. "Of course you goaded her, Seiya. Lord knows what you said; I don't want to know actually, but I seriously doubt she came here looking to fight you." She glanced at Haruka. "Right?"

Haruka slipped her transformation pen into her pocket, some of the tension draining out of her. "I just came by to see how you were, Taiki. And to let you know…Michiru and I didn't keep anything from you. We didn't know Setsuna was leaving. She wasn't even planning on saying goodbye to us. We only got back in time because Michiru saw a glimpse of what was happening in her Mirror."

"How did Usagi know about us?" asked Taiki, sounding like she didn't entirely trust Haruka's explanation, which was a good thing in Seiya's opinion.

"Usagi is more perceptive than you might think," Haruka said with a huff of amusement. "She probably worked it out on her own. Just like she figured out that something was happening with Setsuna. Michiru and I didn't say anything about your relationship to anyone. We still haven't. And Usagi won't. It's up to you if you want to tell the other soldiers or not. Maybe you won't want to, with how things have turned out. Either way…" She shrugged. "Well, whatever you decide to do, Michiru and I are fine with it. I mean, I know none of that is going to be high on your priority list right now. But if it comes up at some point…"

"Thank you, Haruka," said Taiki quietly. She reached into the pocket of her jeans and pulled out a small key. "And thank you for giving me this too, but I guess it's time to return it now."

Seiya could hear the veiled pain in Taiki's voice, though she wasn't sure if Haruka could. Whatever the key was about, the thought of losing it was causing Taiki yet more unhappiness, and she was a little surprised when Haruka shook her head, refusing to take the proffered key.

"It's fine, Taiki. You can keep it. You're still welcome."

And that was the moment Seiya knew, with some irritation, that she was going to have to revise her assessment of Haruka yet again, because she could tell from the little bit of peace that crept into Taiki's eyes that Haruka had just left her with something important to hold onto, something that she could have taken away from her and didn't.

She barely took in the dirty look Haruka gave her before she strode out of the apartment, appearing even more unruly than usual with her left cheek and eye already turning puffy and bruised.

Taiki fixed her eyes coolly on Seiya after Haruka left. "I'd be giving you a lecture right now, but frankly, I'm too tired and miserable to bother. And I'm not even going to offer you an icepack. Yaten can do that, unless she's not speaking to you again."

"Oh crap," said Seiya, remembering. "Yaten is out looking for you. If I don't call her right now, she really will stop speaking to me again."

Shaking her head, Taiki disappeared into the kitchen as Seiya made the call and let Yaten know she could come home. She decided to leave out the whole bit about the fight with Haruka.

After finishing the call, she slumped onto the couch with a groan, gingerly probing her throbbing jaw.

"Here."

Seiya looked up in surprise to see Taiki holding out an icepack wrapped in a tea towel.

"I thought I was too much of a despicable senshi to deserve an icepack."

"You are," said Taiki, sitting down companionably beside her on the couch. "But I got you one anyway."

"What was that thing with the key about?" Seiya asked, carefully pressing the cold pack to her jaw.

She nearly regretted asking when she saw the pain in Taiki's eyes. "Haruka gave me a key to their house back in January. She said…something to the effect that she was glad Setsuna and I had gotten together, and that she could see we were good for each other. I didn't think they'd want me to keep it, now that Setsuna isn't there any more."

"And you didn't think to tell us about the key? That's a pretty significant development, considering the distant ice queens we're dealing with. In fact…This whole time, you've hardly told us anything about Setsuna, or what was going on."

"Well," Taiki shrugged. "It was a bit awkward with you disliking the Outers so much. It seemed easier not to talk about it."

"I was just _concerned_ Taiki. I never had a problem with the relationship."

Taiki's voice was worryingly empty. "None of it matters now, anyway. The whole thing's finished."

She was staring down at her hands like she didn't recognise them. Seiya had seen that before on a few occasions and knew it was a very bad sign. As far as Seiya's own powers went, they were obvious and straightforward. Strength and endurance and the ability to bash in a lot of monster heads in short order. For Taiki though, her powers were inextricably bound up with her thoughts and emotions, and probably for someone who was a maker it couldn't be any other way, for otherwise why would they want to create in the first place?

But the danger was, when something like this happened, it could hit extra hard. And Seiya didn't want to see Taiki going down that road again.

"Taiki," she said softly, "where were you? Why did you disappear like that? Why wouldn't you answer our calls? You must have known how worried we'd be."

"I had my communicator turned off. I just…Needed to get away from everything."

"Are you crazy? The first rule is, we _never_ turn our communicators off, especially when we're on a strange planet a long way from home. Do I have to remind you of that?"

"I just needed to be by myself, Seiya."

"If that's what you need to do, fine Taiki. But next time, you tell us where you're going at least. And leave us with an open channel. Not so we can bug you, just so we know you're okay."

Grudgingly, Taiki nodded. "I guess…I can do that. If I really have to."

"You do really have to. We still don't know this planet and its dangers that well. If something happened to you out there and we had no way of contacting you, and you had no way of contacting us—"

"Yes Seiya. I get it. I won't disappear like that again. I'm sorry for worrying you."

Seiya brushed her arm. "I'm sorry this whole thing happened. I wish it had turned out better. I really do."

"I know." Taiki laid her head on Seiya's shoulder and closed her eyes. She was asleep by the time Yaten got home.


	7. Chapter 7

The house was dark when Haruka pulled into the drive. She knew Michiru had some kind of after works drinks on that night and wouldn't be home until later, and yet it was strange for her to look up at the unlit windows of her home knowing no one was there. She, who had once never imagined letting anyone close, now felt lost with half her family gone.

Her footsteps echoed in the hall as she stepped inside, a mournful symphony to those who were no longer here. The lights flicked on to show everything as neat and clean as it had been this morning; none of Hotaru's teenage detritus littering the lounge, none of Setsuna's scholarly excesses of books and papers.

For a moment, Haruka was actually glad Michiru wasn't here. These last couple of days, it had been unbearable to watch the expressions that flickered over her features as she looked around their empty home, doing her best to hide the depth of her pain from Haruka, accepting Haruka's poor attempts at comfort with gratitude even though both of them knew it wasn't working.

"Fuck you Setsuna," Haruka muttered under her breath, directing her ire at a photograph of Setsuna smiling with her arms crossed over little-girl Hotaru standing in front of her. "How could you just leave us like that? How could you do that to Michiru?"

Haruka winced a little as she realized she'd just nearly echoed the question Seiya had asked her earlier. Abruptly, she turned away from the photograph. Her black eye was throbbing.

* * *

Yaten, predictably, was furious at what Haruka had done to Seiya, and had almost marched right out the door again before Taiki managed to stop her.

"Get off me, Taiki!" she said irritably. "I'm going to her house and I'm going to show that overgrown blonde giant what a real soldier can do."

"You'll do nothing of the sort, Yaten. We can't afford to lose the good grace of the Outer Soliders."

"Does this look like good grace?" Yaten demanded angrily, striding back to Seiya and pointing at her swollen jaw.

Seiya rolled her eyes. "Yaten, I'm not exactly a shrinking flower. I can promise you that right now, Haruka doesn't look any better than me. And…As much as I hate to say it, it's not surprising she got angry. She came here to check on Taiki, I said some stuff I shouldn't have, things got out of hand. We should leave it at that."

"Why?" said Yaten stubbornly. "The Outers think they can just push us around whenever they feel like it. Why should we put up with that?"

Taiki gave a long suffering sigh, wondering why she had to be the logical one at a time like this. "Seiya goes out of her way to wind Haruka up, Yaten. You know she does. I'm not saying the way Haruka responded was okay, but it's in keeping with who she is. Seiya knows that too.

"Since we've been here, they've let us move around freely and they haven't interfered. That's much better than the reception we got last time we were here. If we lose their approval, it's going to be a lot more difficult to continue with our search."

Yaten had almost started speaking again before Taiki's words sunk in, but as they did, her mouth closed though her eyes were as fiery as ever. She, like all of them, knew it would be utterly irresponsible to do anything further to put their task in danger. "Fine," she said coldly. "I still think _all_ the Outers are nuts, but whatever. Let's just concentrate on finishing our mission and then go home. I'm over this backwards little planet."

And with that, she stomped off to the bathroom for a shower.

* * *

"Okay, so…Michiru found Taiki. She's on the Moon."

About two weeks had passed since Setsuna's leaving. February was nearly over and winter was starting to thaw. The Starlights had gone on with their search; the senshi and their Princess had gone back to their mission of safeguarding the Earth. Usagi had insisted on everyone attending what she called a going away party for Setsuna, despite the fact that it was conducted without her there. Predictably, it had felt more like a wake, and a very miserable one at that. Haruka and Michiru took the first thin excuse they could to get away from it. The Starlight had been invited, but they didn't show.

In fact, Haruka and Michiru hadn't seen or heard from them at all until earlier today, when a very grumpy sounding Yaten had contacted Michiru asking if she would mind using her Mirror to search for Taiki, who'd gone missing again.

After finding her, Michiru had charged Haruka with the task of letting Seiya and Yaten know, and unfortunately, that meant delivering the message in person since their communication devices weren't attuned to each other.

Despite being so short, Yaten did an impressive job of appearing to look down at Haruka as if she was a lowly bug she'd like to crush to death.

"Right. Thanks for that. Seiya and I will take it from here."

"Actually, Michiru already went to get her. She said she'd make sure she goes home. You two can get on with your search."

"We've already searched," said Seiya irritably. "There's nothing here. Also – what the hell, Tenoh, don't tell us what to do."

Haruka shrugged, for once not bothered enough to argue. "Do what you like. But Michiru said Taiki didn't want to see the two of you."

"What?" A hurt look sprang into Seiya's blue eyes. "Why not?"

"I don't know. If the three of you aren't getting along, that's nothing to do with me."

"But we are getting along," Seiya insisted.

"I don't think it's us," said Yaten after a moment's thought. "I think it's the search. Haven't you noticed that Taiki tries to change the subject whenever we talk about it? That she doesn't want to come out with us when we look?"

Crossing her arms, Haruka did her best to act like she wasn't there as Seiya and Yaten talked, wondering if she should just go. She'd found the two Starlights digging through the rubble of what looked like the ruins of an Incan temple in the mountains of Ecuador and even with her senshi speed it was going to take her a while to get home.

Not that there was anything exactly to rush home for. There'd been no more of the Egg-laying monsters since before Christmas, and there hadn't been any attacks at all since Setsuna left. Yet Haruka had a vague sense of unease that kept persisting, and she didn't want to be away from Tokyo for too long.

"Listen," she cut in, "I'm going to head home now. I don't really care whether you two stay here or not, but there'll be no flying with me. Choose a different route or something. Bye."

"Haruka, wait. There's something you should know about Taiki before you go."

Hearing Seiya so unexpectedly use her first name, Haruka whipped back around, eyes narrowed.

Hurriedly, Seiya held up her hands. "Look, I'm trying to be friends all right? We don't particularly like each other, but we all care about Taiki, and she's having a really hard time right now. I know you and Michiru are too," she added quickly. "I didn't mean to say you're not. And…I'm sorry I took my frustrations out on you the day you came round. That wasn't fair."

"Well," Haruka gritted her teeth. "You weren't wrong that I screwed up, though – thanks – I already knew. And…With this whole leaving thing…Setsuna's screwed up too. Michiru and I already know that. Sooner or later, Setsuna is going to figure it out. I just hope it's not too late when she does."

"What do you mean by too late?" said Yaten sharply.

"Nothing. I don't know," said Haruka tiredly. "Just a bad feeling. I hope I'm wrong."

Yaten tossed her hair dismissively and turned to Seiya. "You shouldn't tell her about Taiki. It's not any of their business."

Seiya sat down cross-legged on the lush grass growing up around the few erect pillars of the ancient Incan structure and invited the other two to join her.

 _What is this, preschool story time?_ Haruka thought, but she managed to limit her distain to a few looks of disgust and got as comfortable as she could with her back to one of the pillars.

They both glanced at Yaten expectantly.

"Oh honestly," Yaten muttered, sitting down next to Seiya with her nose in the air, her lips pouting and her eyes staring off into the distance as if her obvious disapproval would somehow magically make her not be present.

"Right." Seiya plucked at a few strands of grass and squinted up into the bright tropical sunshine as if thinking. "You see, Taiki had someone a long time ago. Another senshi from our planet. The relationship lasted close to fifteen years. Then there was an attack on one of our cities. It was sudden and unexpected and we lost a lot of civilians. Including the younger sister of this particular senshi Taiki loved.

"You see…For various reasons on Kinmoku, there's actually two ways our senshi can be born. Some of us are born of stars and planets, the way all of you were in the Silver Millennium. That's how Taiki and Yaten and I were born. But…more unusually…others have human parents. It's not really a case of their powers lying dormant and then awakening; they're senshi right from the beginning. A long time ago – well before our time – it was unheard of for senshi to be born like that, but it started happening once the lives of everyone on the planet got extended."

At Haruka's curious look, Seiya nodded. "Yep. Something similar happened in Kinmoku's past as will happen in Earth's future. We even had our own issues with people like the Black Moon Clan – those who didn't want to live longer lives. But in our case, we were able to develop a sort of treatment that worked to restore people to their original condition if they wanted it, so they could age as before and die. Not many use it these days, but a few do."

"So why did having longer lives cause humans to start giving birth to senshi?" Haruka asked.

Seiya's lips twitched in amusement. "Good question. One that's kept all our best scientists and philosophers occupied for…Oh, five hundred years. I'd go into all the theories, but…Honestly, Taiki could explain them much better than me. And all that is just background anyway, so you'll understand what happened next."

"Okay. So what did happen to this senshi who lost her human sister?" Despite herself, Haruka had been drawn into the tale, though she had a sinking feeling about where the end was headed.

"Well, her family belonged to one of the sects that still did sometimes take the mortality treatment, as it's called. Her parents didn't when they knew their daughter was a senshi. They wanted to be there for her, but when they lost their other daughter, that changed. They took it, a whole lot of aunts and cousins took it, and this senshi…She was facing eventually watching all of her family die. So she decided to try taking the treatment too. Without telling Taiki. No one actually thought it would take…No senshi had ever tried it before, but it worked. It took away her powers and it made her mortal."

"Thinking of early retirement, Tenoh?" Yaten said with a smirk, seeming to enjoy Haruka's shocked expression.

"No." Haruka stumbled a little over her words, still trying to wrap her head around what Seiya had told her. "I just had no idea there was something that could take away our powers. Something not evil, that is."

"Well, as you can probably imagine, there was quite an uproar on Kinmoku. There were already occasional tensions between the human-born and star-born senshi, and that incident made things pretty bad for a while. A lot of ugly things got said, particularly about Taiki's lover. For a while, Taiki was pretty lost. It seemed like she might even take the treatment herself.

"This senshi's family had become convinced that their daughter's death was a punishment for them not accepting their mortal lives, and…I don't know, I guess they convinced their former-senshi daughter to believe that too. Whatever the reason, she stopped wanting to have anything to do with any of us, including Taiki. They just went into hiding and disappeared. About six months later, we found Taiki's lover again. Every other member of her family was dead by that point, killed by a disease that could have been easily treated if they'd only had the sense to seek help. Of course Taiki tried to convince her ex-lover to take the medicine that would cure her, but she wouldn't. She just didn't want to live anymore. She was so lost in the past she couldn't see a future. So Taiki had to watch her waste away and die.

"It was awful. Really awful. I can't even describe it. Somehow, Taiki healed eventually, but it's like there was a part of herself that she sealed off and never let anyone touch. No one until Setsuna anyway, though goodness knows what prompted her to make _that_ particular very poor choice. So that's why Yaten and I are so worried about her. Because she's already been lied to and forsaken once, and we could have lost her when that happened. And this is too much the same. If Setsuna really had to amuse herself with someone, she should have just picked a shallow arsehole who didn't care. Not someone who can actually feel things like Taiki."

There were tears in Seiya's eyes as she finished, and she stared at Haruka defiantly as if either daring her to defend Setsuna again or laugh at her emotion.

Haruka did neither. "I'm sorry," she said softly. "That's a lot to go through. And I'm sorry Setsuna hurt Taiki. If it means anything, Michiru and I will help you look out for her. It's the least we can do."

"Humph." Seiya looked away and sniffed. "Well, Taiki does seem to like the two of you for some unfathomable reason. What do you think, Yaten?"

"I suppose we can't really stop them," said Yaten grudgingly.

A slight movement in the grass caught Haruka's attention. Seiya and Yaten were leaning their bodies towards each other, their arms propped at such an angle that it was inevitable their hands weren't touching. In fact, even though the long grass made it difficult to see, Haruka was pretty sure they were actually _holding_ hands, and for a fleeting second there was something in Seiya's eyes as she looked at Yaten that made Haruka wonder if Seiya had been serious when she'd been babbling months ago about having hot dates lined up.

"Are you two—" Haruka blurted out before she could stop herself.

Seiya immediately sat up straighter, her expression wary. "Are we what?"

"Nothing," said Haruka quickly. "I'm going home."

She let the wind lift her, feeling it ruffle its fingers through her hair as she flew high above the clouds, looking up into the blue curve of the sky. A while later she passed into night and the Moon shone down and silvered her skin, and she caught a brief echo of Michiru's scent.

When Haruka reached home, there were lights on inside, and the mournful strains of Michiru's violin wafted out to her on the chilly breeze. Letting herself in and going upstairs, Haruka tapped lightly on the half-open door of the studio.

Michiru acknowledged her with a tilt of her head, but she didn't stop playing. Her eyes were heavy with sadness; her music was full of Setsuna and Taiki's lost love, and their own loss too, lamenting the quiet, steady companion they might never see again. There was no longer any attempt to conceal how much her heart was aching; every note resonated with it, begging for understanding. Haruka hesitated, then went to the piano and raised its lid, sending a cloud of dust into the air. It had been a long time since she'd played and her fingers were clumsy at first, but Michiru slowed and waited for her and gradually their melodies grew, twining around one another in a song of grief that made Haruka's chest burn.

And later that night they made love, the first time since Setsuna's leaving. Kisses hot and hands tender, bodies merged in the dark; the only defense they had against the empty room down the hall, against another's loss they couldn't put right. In the paradise of each other's arms, they forgot for a little while, until another cold morning dawned, and a shrill phone began to ring.

* * *

It had been a long time since Michiru last visited the Moon. She passed by sometimes, on the occasional sweep of the solar system, but she never stayed long. Even after a thousand years, half-forgotten shadows of pain still lingered in the shattered halls of the dead Queen's castle, and Michiru never wanted to stir those particular ghosts into wakefulness.

She couldn't understand why Taiki had been drawn here. These ruins couldn't haunt her the way they did every soldier on Earth.

"I don't think you're going to find your missing Crystal here," she said, moving to stand beside the tall figure who was staring silently into the blackness of space.

Taiki glanced at her. "Neptune. Come to defend your territory from an invading senshi?"

"No," said Michiru with a peaceable smile. "Seiya and Yaten were worried. They asked me to find you with my Mirror. Apparently you agreed not to disappear without telling them where you were going."

"I got sick of them always watching me." After what looked like a brief internal struggle, Taiki asked, "have you heard from her at all?"

"Setsuna? No. I doubt we will. Unless she decides to come back."

"She won't be coming back."

Michiru looked up sharply at the bleakness in Taiki's tone, and caught a glimpse of tears and memories too painful to speak of. She understood now why Taiki had come here. "This is where Setsuna brought you, isn't it?" she said softly. "This is the world she showed you when she said goodbye. The world we all failed to save."

Taiki acknowledged her with a short, sharp nod. "I don't understand Neptune," she admitted, voice weak as the light of a dying star. "What happened with Setsuna was just…A moment in time. I don't know why I feel like this."

"Love can be like that," Michiru said, seating herself on what might have been the shattered remains of a garden bench. Gardens. She remembered there had been gardens here once, long ago. Perhaps Uranus and Neptune had wandered through them hand in hand, stealing kisses and playing truant from one of Serenity's balls.

"It's more than that," said Taiki, frowning in frustration and claiming a lump of rock opposite Michiru's bench. "I feel like something's shifted. The world isn't the way it was before. I feel this awful sense of doom. Did you feel that, when the Silver Millennium was ending? Did you know what was coming?"

"That was so long ago, Taiki. It was a different life. I was a different person. I barely even remember."

"But did you know?" Taiki persisted, her deep, intelligent eyes seeing further into Michiru than was comfortable.

"I sensed…Something," said Michiru. "Both Uranus and I did. We didn't know how bad it was going to be. Nobody did. Even when the world was crumbling around us, I felt like it couldn't really be happening."

"That's what I feel like right now. I feel like the world is starting to crumble and I can't quite believe it but I can't stop it either."

Uneasily, Michiru thought of her own conversation with Setsuna just before she'd left. Her conviction that Setsuna's actions had changed things this time round; that running away was going to have bad consequences for both Earth and Kinmoku.

"Just after Setsuna left," Taiki went on, a shadow falling over her face, "I had a premonition. I knew we weren't going to find the Crystal. I still feel like that. That's why I've been avoiding Seiya and Yaten. It's not because of what happened with Setsuna. That does hurt, but if it was just that, I could cope. But this feeling…"

"What feeling exactly? Can you describe it?"

Taiki gave an anguished sigh. "when Setsuna brought me here, she talked a lot about her duty and her mission and saving the world. And I suppose I just don't understand…Why is a world worth saving if it makes you give up yourself? What sort of world demands a sacrifice like that?"

"The world we used to live in," Michiru whispered.

"But you don't live there anymore."

"No."

"Then why is Setsuna still acting like she does?"

"Because unlike us, she never stopped being part of that world. It's still real to her."

"And isn't she part of this world too?"

"She always was, to me and Haruka and Hotaru."

"Then why did she leave? Is the future of your world so fragile that it will die without Sailor Pluto to watch over it always until the end of time? And if that's the case, does a future so weak and easily broken even deserve to be protected? How can there be strength in any such reality?"

"I'm sorry, Taiki. I don't have answers for you. The only one who can answer your questions is gone."

Something flashed in the depths of Taiki's eyes. "Tell me one thing though. This sense of foreboding…Do you have it too?"

"Yes," confirmed Michiru, her voice heavy. "I have it."

"So it's not just Kinmoku. Earth is in danger too."

After a brief hesitation and an internal debate with herself, Michiru revealed, "Haruka and I know…There was another past before this one. Setsuna's mentioned it before."

"What do you mean, another past?" Taiki said with a confused expression.

"The last time all of this happened – our awakenings, our battles, Setsuna was a human, who awoke just like the rest of us, when she was about to be killed by an enemy. We don't know much more than that. She hardly ever says anything about that timeline. But she was supposed to go to the Doors of Time then as well, and she went, willingly, because she didn't remember what it was like. And in that timeline, she never met you."

"So how did things change?"

"The Death Busters caused a serious rift; one that meant the Sailor Pluto of the future had to come back to our time in the past to help us put it right. And that's the timeline that came to be, that we all remember. But there was still the promise to watch over the Doors. Only this time, Setsuna remembered what it was like. She knew what she'd be giving up."

"She told you all of this?" Barely concealed, the hurt was there, that Setsuna hadn't discussed any of this with Taiki.

Michiru smiled. "She told us in her own way. Cryptically."

"Is that why she wanted to be with me? A last taste of humanity before she gave it all up?"

"I think she told herself that's all she wanted. And I also think she was lying. I think she was looking for a way to change her destiny, to let go of the past she'd been holding onto tightly for so long. And I think she found it, and then she was scared and didn't know what to do. I told her that the future wouldn't be the same after this because she was no longer the same. This isn't a repeat of the past."

"But where does any of that leave us?"

"I don't know."

Silence descended; the deep, vast silence of space above them and closer, sitting beside them like an unwanted guest, the still silence of an ancient graveyard abandoned and forgotten by the world. But not forgotten by Setsuna, Michiru thought. This graveyard lived on in her heart; a reminder and a warning of what failure had once cost all of them.

"You know," said Taiki, her tone hushed as if she too felt the power of invisible ghosts hovering in the air, "a long time ago, being a Sailor Soldier cost me someone I cared about very deeply. I paid that price once, but I never want to do it again. And because it was the world that took her from me, I can't do things for the world anymore. I'll do them for my Princess, for Seiya and Yaten, for myself. But not for the world. I'm not selfless enough for that anymore. The world is abstract. It doesn't make me feel. If I can't feel, I can't create. If I can't create…"

"You can't fight," Michiru finished, remembering the pain in her chest that had once been her constant companion, and worse, the numb despair that severed her connection to her music.

Taiki nodded in relief. "Yes, that's it. I didn't think—"

"You didn't think I'd understand? Of course I do. I'm an artist too, Taiki. And you're worried that if you're thinking like this while you're with Seiya and Yaten, your attitude will affect the outcome of the search for the Crystal."

"It might be better if I stay out of it."

"You should talk to them about how you're feeling."

Something distracted Michiru for a moment, making her look towards the small blue ball of Earth. Even from so far away, she felt the wind stirring against her skin, and knew Haruka must be flying high up in the stratosphere right now, heading for home.

"What's up?" said Taiki, obviously sensing the shift in Michiru's attention. She was perceptive. No wonder Setsuna liked her.

Michiru quickly shook her head. "Nothing."

Her attitude becoming brisk, Taiki stood. "I'm sorry, Michiru. None of this is your problem. I should be getting back. Seiya and Yaten will be worried about me."

"You should talk to them," Michiru repeated, keeping her voice light but making it clear she was serious. "You know they care about you."

Taiki gave her a wan smile. "I know. I just…I don't want them to worry." She glanced one last time at the ruins of the Castle, eyes glimmering with apprehension, seeing perhaps a dark prophesy of the future of her own world.

As she was about to take flight, Michiru spoke one last time. "I am sorry, Taiki, that it didn't work out. If it means anything, I know Setsuna was happy with you. If things had been different…"

"But they weren't different, were they Michiru?" Taiki said, and those words were still haunting Michiru even after she'd used her Mirror to take her home. She plucked out their sadness on the strings of her violin, feeling the stillness of the house around her, and the grief surging in her like the ocean didn't find relief until Haruka's melody joined with her own.

It had been too long since they played together. There was no orchestra in the world, no star-studded soloist who could match Michiru's music like Haruka did, no one who so perfectly understood the depths of the feelings that moved through her.

The warm light turned Haruka's pale hair bright and golden as her fingers touched the keys of the piano caressingly. Eventually she stopped before Michiru did and whispered "come to bed", and Michiru went to her, already longing to feel Haruka's lips against her own.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter was written with the help of a couple of prompts from Oath's [Senshi (Br)OTP Writing Prompt Generator](http://orteil.dashnet.org/randomgen/?gen=HP5WtTtb), namely,
> 
> Your prompt is HARUKA and SEIYA near some mysterious ancient ruins.  
> Your two prompt phrases are: Death | Tears
> 
> Your prompt is MICHIRU and TAIKI on the Moon.  
> Your two prompt phrases are: A moment in time | Holding
> 
> Till next time!


	8. Chapter 8

At the Doors, the years slid by quietly and Pluto watched and waited. She stood and she guarded and, as had happened before, as would happen again, every time she found herself back here, perhaps right up until the end of time that even she couldn't see, she felt herself beginning to disappear, fading into the mist, swallowed by destiny.

There were things she could have hung onto – the memories of her family and friends; she could have even watched them if she wanted to, taken comfort from knowing they were safe, that she was where she needed to be to guard the promised future woven long ago into the stars.

But somehow, that was a hollow comfort. What Pluto remembered was the pain and incomprehension she'd seen on the faces of Uranus and Neptune as they watched her go, and then something would stir in her heart akin to anger and despair, because she was beginning to wonder what the point was of having dominion over time and space when she wasn't even granted control over her own life.

Last time she'd done this, Pluto had believed. She'd believed it was the right thing to do, she'd believed she'd understand one day why it had been necessary. But all that had happened was that after a thousand years she'd been sent back to do it all over again, to relive finding and losing her family, and who knew how many more times it was going to be expected of her.

Watching over the Doors hadn't stopped the Death Busters. Something like that could happen again. No future could ever be guaranteed, no past was safe from the ravages of enemies. Pluto's task was impossible. And somewhere, deep down, she was beginning to resent always having to be the one who gave up the world. Always having to be the sacrifice.

Neptune had been right. Pluto had changed things this time around. She'd done something she'd never allowed herself to do before and let someone in. She'd forged a new path to escape the same weary cycle and then been too afraid to see where it would lead.

That was how Pluto's dreamland started. With nothing to do but ponder, with a million potential realities swirling just beyond the tip of her staff, she began to imagine. What if she'd said yes that night and let Taiki touch her. What if she hadn't left. What might have happened? Soon enough, Pluto had built up a whole world for herself and as time went on she even half forgot that it wasn't real.

Last time, Pluto had survived at the Doors by hollowing out everything in her that longed for anything else; this time she escaped, losing herself ever deeper in the life she once might have lived, if she'd only been brave enough to grasp it with her own two hands.

Sometimes she convinced herself that the mists rolled back and she was there – really there – in that other life; a world jostling with sound and texture and colour, a world of glimmering stars and soft beds and touches in the dark. A world filled with the warmth of someone sleeping beside her, whose hair slipped like silk between her fingers.

Pluto dreamed, and in those places where time passed, a thousand years went by.

* * *

She thought she might be imagining the footsteps at first. Two sets of light booted footfalls. Had it been that long already? Her eyes swept over the concealing mists, her staff was ready just in case.

But she knew who it was before she saw them, and against her will her breath hitched and tears sprang into her eyes, and then finally she was being held again, wrapped in a tight embrace by her long lost daughter from another life and her Small Lady who was small no longer but a princess fast growing into her power.

"Pluto," Saturn whispered, her voice muffled against Pluto's shoulder. "I only just heard from Uranus and Neptune in the past. Why did you do it? Why did you go?"

Drawing back, Pluto touched her daughter's face, trying to keep the sadness out of her smile. "I didn't have a choice. You know that."

"How long have you been here?" Small Lady asked, her eyes – so like her mother's now she was grown – filled with concern.

"A long time," Pluto answered. "But that doesn't matter. Tell me…Is all well in the thirtieth century?"

"Of course it is," said Saturn. "How could it not be with you watching over us all?"

"And…Kinmoku? Princess Kakyuu? The Starlights?"

Saturn and Small Lady exchanged an odd look. Gently placing her hand on Pluto's arm, Saturn said, "Setsuna-mama, don't you know? Kinmoku doesn't exist anymore. The Starlights did find the Crystal, but it was broken and couldn't be mended. Princess Kakyuu and Fighter and the others died with their planet. It's…It's very sad, but it was a long time ago for us. Didn't the Doors show you when it happened?"

Starting back, Pluto inadvertently shook her daughter off. Kinmoku and its people gone. Taiki dead. Her mind was blank with shock. That couldn't be. It couldn't have happened without her knowing; she who was mistress of space and time. But one quick look into the timestream confirmed it. Nothing was left except a small hole in the universe, slowly filling in as the memory of the planet and its people faded from the galaxy.

"Setsuna-mama, are you okay?" Saturn drew closer, her steps tentative, her brow furrowed.

Pluto grasped her staff more tightly and stood up straighter. "Of course. Worlds rise and fall all the time. I can't be expected to keep track of every single one. My duty is to protect the Earth. Nothing else. Now, I think that's enough visiting for today. I have things that need attending to."

She turned brusquely and let the mists take her, and when she was sure she was alone in her suspended reality she screamed once, her pain so strong the sound of it reverberated throughout time itself.

Up and down she paced, going nowhere, her feet lost from view, while a single word pounded into her head over and over again.

How.

How had she let this happen.

How had she become so distracted by fantastical might-have-beens that she hadn't even felt her lover die; hadn't noticed when Kinmoku winked out of existence.

Her breath was coming fast, and her blood was pumping audibly through her wounded heart, reminding her inescapably of that human part of herself she'd worked so hard to deny.

Her mind went back to Christmas Day, to the way Taiki's expression had hovered between uncertainty and distrust as she gave Setsuna that long, assessing look before saying quietly, "it wasn't what I lost. It was who."

And so much had made sense then. The sadness in Taiki's eyes, the ambivalence in her voice when she spoke of her world. The way she kissed Pluto sometimes, like there was something she was trying to forget.

Glancing outside of the window, gazing into a past that even Pluto couldn't see, Taiki had drawn in a few quick breaths, lips pressed tightly together, until she continued, "I never knew that senshi can die the way regular people do. Wasting away, fearful, lost in despair. That's the way my last lover died, long ago. She lost someone close to her, and that made her lose her faith in the world. Some days, I don't blame her. Without Seiya and Yaten…"

She'd stopped abruptly, pulling herself up like a runaway train, her eyes sliding nervously towards Setsuna.

Setsuna had drawn closer and placed a hand against the small of Taiki's back, feeling the tension in her body as she rubbed her thumb over the line of Taiki's spine.

Taiki released the breath she'd been holding. "The worst part is – I don't know what other way it could have gone down. Should she have stayed alive, just for the sake of her duty? That was what many said at the time. The prevailing opinion, was that she'd dishonoured her senshi calling. Sullied all of us. Done the improper thing. But did she? Should she have stayed alive, being miserable for the rest of her long life, fighting for a world she no longer believed in, that no longer brought her joy? How would that have worked? It would have been nothing better than a living death.

"And that's why – even now – I have trouble believing in an abstract notion of duty. I still have people I love, but if I lost them, would I want to keep fighting? I think I'd want the world to understand enough to let me go if I was in that much pain. But it didn't understand for her, and I suppose I've never quite forgiven my home planet for that."

The colour of Taiki's eyes deepened to the purple of night encroaching across the sky, and she touched Setsuna's cheek gently. "It was a long time ago, now. I never imagined that I'd—"

Leaning into Taiki's hand, Setsuna whispered, "I know. I never imagined this for myself either. I've always thought my duty was the only thing that mattered. There was never room for anything else. But now…I want this, Taiki. I want you."

And Pluto had seen the answering warmth in Taiki's eyes as the pain of the past faded, and maybe that had been the right path. The path both of them should have taken. Pluto had meant it then, that she wanted that life. She'd been filled with it, filled with the wanting of it, filled with possibility, with the lightness of happiness at being with her lover on Christmas night as the wind howled and flung sleet against the windows.

All of it only a memory now. A past that was long lost to her, just as so many pieces of her fractured life were.

Only Pluto was the mistress of time, and no past or future was ever truly closed to her. She wasn't meant to, of course. She was only allowed to watch, not to participate, not to change, except in the most dire of circumstances when the survival of Earth and the Princess hung in the balance.

For once, Pluto didn't care. She raised her staff and opened the Doors, and went back to the moment of Kinmoku's destruction.

Pluto emerged in what was left of the High Temple. The earth shook; ash filled the air. The sky was red and the planet was burning. Fighter's body lay half on top of Princess Kakyuu, both of them already covered in a dusting of ash. Healer's slight form lay a short distance away, along with a handful of dead civilians. There was no sign of Taiki, or anyone else alive or dead. Suddenly a pile of rubble that looked like it had fallen in from the roof flew apart and Taiki emerged from the debris, bloodied and mangled and only able to totter a few steps before she collapsed.

She stared at Pluto like she was seeing a ghost as Pluto knelt down beside her.

"Setsuna?" she whispered, reaching out a shaking hand, "are you really here?"

"I'm here," Pluto said softly, smiling tenderly and taking Taiki's hand.

Taiki looked wildly at the destruction around them, desperate hope springing into her eyes. "Can you do something? Can you change this?"

"Perhaps. But not right now. I need you to tell me where you found the Sacred Crystal."

"Why? It was broken."

"I know. But there must have been a time when it wasn't. And I can find it."

Her eyes wet with tears, Taiki gazed at her people, her dead friends, and her princess, lying like a crumpled flower. She began to speak, and the word might have been "Candlelight", but there was a great and terrible boom and the rock beneath them split open with a scream of agony and Taiki slipped from Pluto's grasp to disappear into a gaping hole filled with molten flame and Kinmoku crumbled and Pluto was back again at the Doors of Time, feeling the cool mist sliding against her skin.

Pluto's hand was still warm from Taiki's touch; the fear in her eyes as she fell was still stark and vivid in her mind. But now was not the time to mourn. Now was the time to change things so that Kinmoku and its people were never lost.

The Doors reared up above her, forbidding and disapproving, as if they already knew her plans. As soon as she'd set foot on Kinmoku, Pluto had known. This was not a past that would change easily, nor without consequence. And Pluto knew she would be the one to pay the price for that, because she always was.

She didn't care about the price, but that didn't mean she wasn't going to approach this with care. Several lifetimes ago, when both Pluto and the Queen had realised the end of the Silver Millennium was approaching, Pluto had wanted to go back in time then, too. "I can go back," she'd pleaded. "I can warn you of what's coming. We can still save the Kingdom."

Eyes sad, Serenity had shook her head. "It's already too late for that, Pluto. We are a little piece of the universe that has gone awry, and so it will destroy us to build something better. You could go back a million times and never find a way. This world has to end to make room for what will come afterwards. It's my own careless doing. I should have been a better Queen. I'm sorry."

First Pluto had made promises to her Queen, and now to Taiki. It may turn out that fulfilling the latter promise would cancel the former, but she hoped not. It was Pluto's responsibility to keep the promises she made to the dead. Who else but her would remember?

* * *

Finding the Crystal was not going to be an easy task. If that had been the case, Pluto would have been able to find it when the Starlights first came to Earth. But she had no knowledge of its whereabouts, no memory of it being brought to her planet. No ability to sense its presence.

All Taiki had told her was _Candlelight_. Candlelight. The way to Babylon. With a wave of her staff Pluto opened the Doors, but she didn't step through. She watched, patiently, as the tiny settlement of huts beside the Euphrates grew into a great and wondrous city, the largest in the ancient world, and then shrunk back again to ruins dreaming in the desert.

No one appeared to deliver a Crystal. With a slight frown, Pluto followed an eddy of sand as it blew across the fallen remnants of a wall. How had the Crystal gotten to Earth in the first place without her knowing about it? She should have felt it when it was brought there. Was that same protective force hiding it now, stopping her from feeling or even seeing its arrival?

Who would have the power to do that, and why?

But more importantly, how was Pluto going to search the timespan of an entire city? Taiki had never even told her what the Crystal looked like. She watched the city rise and fall again, and then once more, going slower each time.

Finally, something caught her eye. A glint of red hair that revealed itself for just a moment as a woman's hood partially slipped off her head. The shade was exactly the same as Princess Kakyuu's, but Pluto was sure that the figure wasn't her.

She was mingling with the throng outside the Hanging Gardens, built at the highest point of the city, and soon disappeared into one of the archways beneath the terraces. Grabbing an earth-coloured robe out of the mists to hide her uniform, Pluto hastily followed.

After a thousand years of nothingness, the world was almost overwhelming. The harsh desert sun stabbed painful light into her eyes, the voices of the wondering crowd jostling against her were harsh and loud in her ears. She could smell fresh water from the river on the breeze, and passed fragrant stalls piled high with dates and pomegranate seeds.

The gardens were beautiful; so much lush, peaceful green, a sweet oasis blooming in a barren land. As Pluto slipped beneath an archway, the crowd began to thin. It was cool and dim here beneath the terrace, and Pluto could feel something strange beginning to stir in her heart, a warmth that reminded her of those few brief months with Taiki.

A glimmer sprung from her chest, tiny and frail as candlelight. Pluto took a few steps and the brightness grew, illuminating a silvery likeness of her symbol on a large square stone set into the back wall. The other visitors strolling beneath the terrace paid no attention, apparently unable to see what was happening before them, still not noticing even as another stone slid back across the floor, revealing a flight of stairs disappearing down into the dark.

Someone, apparently, was expecting her.

Throwing her robe aside and willing her staff into her hand, Pluto stood at the head of the stairs. The light, the growing warmth in her chest, was coming from her star seed, and she could feel something in her core tugging her sharply towards whatever awaited in the bowels of Babylon.

The stone closed almost silently over her head once she was far enough down the stairs. As Pluto descended, she could feel Taiki's presence, making her star seed shine brighter and her chest tighten with pain. It wasn't during the present, nor the recent past, that Taiki would be here. It was the far off future Pluto was feeling, but even being in the same world, the same space, separated only by time that was not a barrier to Pluto as it was to others, was nearly enough to make Pluto whisper Taiki's name and expect to hear her answer.

When she reached the bottom of the stairs, Pluto followed a narrow rough-hewn passageway that she thought at first terminated in a dead end. Only by feeling carefully and following the glow of her star seed did she realise there was a tiny gap in one side of the rock, which she barely managed to squeeze through.

She emerged into a small round chamber, lit up by what looked like a million tiny fireflies floating through the air.

"Sailor Pluto, I'm so glad you're here."

The woman who smiled at Pluto was obviously one of Princess Kakyuu's forebears. Her hair was cropped close to her head and she was shorter than Kakyuu, her light build reminding Pluto more of Yaten. There was a quirk to her lips that suggested mischief and laughter.

What was very obviously the Sacred Crystal sat on a stone pedestal in the centre of the room, pulsing with a soft white light. Pluto repressed the urge to grab it and run.

"I'm here," she agreed, keeping her voice calm. "But I'm not sure why."

"You know who I am, don't you?"

"I'm guessing you must be the current Princess of Kinmoku. But what are you doing on Earth, and how do you know who I am?"

"I think what you really mean, is how did I get here with the Sacred Crystal without you knowing. My powers are strong enough to hide me, even from you. Just as Kakyuu will be able to hide in the future, from all the guardians of Earth and even her own senshi."

Pluto started at the mention of Kakyuu. This other Princess nodded.

"Yes. I know something of the future. That's why I'm here. To try and save it."

"Then why are you intending to hide the Sacred Crystal here? Its absence will have grievous consequences for your world in the future. Do you not realise that?"

The Princess's eyes were grave. "Of course I do. But sometimes, there are there certain moments in time that are very nearly set, and almost impossible to turn aside. I think you can understand that?"

"Yes," said Pluto, thinking of the Silver Millennium's downfall, "I can."

The Princess nodded.

"Our seers have been foretelling the destruction of Kinmoku, at a time far off in the future. Not just one seer. All of them, seeing it over and over." There was a look of horror in the Princess's eyes as she spoke, a look Pluto remembered all too well, for she had seen it long ago in Queen Serenity's eyes as she too faced the impending destruction of her kingdom.

"The two Crystals that protect our planet are very powerful. But sometime in the future, if they remain as they are, the very goodness of their energy is going to attract something powerful and evil."

"An enemy?"

"A deep irrational force of hatred that will want nothing more than to see us destroy ourselves, or each other."

"But if you know it's coming, you can plan against it," Pluto argued.

"Not this sort of enemy," said the Princess. "How does one fight the despair that creeps into the soul, the jealousy that causes murder, the paralyzing conviction that all is already lost?"

There was something here, thought Pluto, in the Princess's words. Some sense of a great and terrible shadow moving in the dark that again reminded her too much of the Silver Millennium's fall. It was like she was hearing a story she'd heard before; one repeated over and over all across the galaxy. A story that too often ended in empty star systems and dead worlds.

"Why do you think it will help to keep the Crystal here?" she asked.

With a smile, the Princess softly replied, "what better place to light a candle in the dark?"

Pluto started, wondering if the seers of this Princess's time had foreseen something of her last parting with Star Maker. She almost asked, there was something in the Princess's look that almost seemed to be challenging her to do so, but Pluto forced herself not to.

What mattered was figuring out how to save the Crystal, not what Kinmoku's seers might or might not have seen of her and Taiki.

"You shouldn't leave the Crystal here," Pluto warned. "By the time your Sailor Soldiers find it in the future, it's already been destroyed. Your world falls."

The Princess gave Pluto a grave look. "We have no choice but to leave it here. With only one Crystal, our world escapes detection. But not with two. We already know the Crystal will be broken if we leave it here. Our seers have told us that. But there will be a powerful Maker amongst those who will be sent on the quest to recover the Crystal in the future. She has the power to save us."

After a pause, the Princess continued, "she's the reason you're here. Your feelings for her is why you could find your way to this place. The possibility of what would happen between the two of you was another thread the seers could see shining brightly amongst all the possible futures."

Pluto wondered if some of those futures were the same ones she had lost herself within for so many years at the Doors; all that life she could have had which she'd turned away from for the sake of her duty.

"If Maker has the power to restore the Crystal, why didn't it happen? I saw Kinmoku's downfall with my own eyes."

"Perhaps you would know that better than I, Sailor Pluto. All I've seen are things that might happen."

That first night at Usagi's party, Pluto had seen the sadness of dead worlds lingering in Star Maker's eyes. She'd been drawn because she recognized in herself that loss, that yearning for what could never be regained. But the last night they'd spent together, there'd been something else in Maker's eyes. Hope. Bright, shining hope for a future she was just starting to imagine.

A future that Pluto had denied to both of them, turning away from the world of the living, and back to what she had always known. The world of the dead.

"A long time ago," said Pluto, "the world wasn't enough for someone Maker cared about. That same world condemned the person she loved for ending an existence which had become intolerable to her. And so the world wasn't enough for Maker either. She loved her Princess, her friends, but not the world. Not in her deepest heart. And the world is all that this Crystal understands. The world is what this Crystal was created to protect. But Maker…She can't bear to look at the world, because all she sees is what it took from her. There'd be no reason for the Crystal to respond."

"But perhaps she found something, Pluto. Maybe right here on Earth she found what she needed to enable her to regain her faith and find the power to restore the Crystal." 

With an angry flash of her eyes, Pluto replied more harshly than she meant do, "what would you have me do? Abandon the promises I made to my Queen? To save a world that is nothing to do with me?"

In an imperious voice that left no doubt as to her rank, the Princes said, "If you were my soldier, I would ask you to leave this cage that you've built for yourself. But perhaps the new princess you serve has already asked you to do so. You've started down a new path, Pluto. Putting up bars between the yourself and the world will do nothing to stop the changes that have already begun. There is no going back."

"I can't leave the Doors," Pluto repeated, the treacherous stab of regret she felt finding its way into the tone of her words. "But…" She closed her eyes as her heart contracted painfully, and felt a tear sliding down her cheek. "I don't want Maker to die. I want her planet to have a future."

Sitting on its pedestal, the Crystal glimmered, its faceted surface reflecting back the shine of the star seed still shimmering at Pluto's breast. Pluto gripped her staff tighter, and caught the Princess's eye.

"Let me take the Crystal. I'll return it to Kinmoku just before it's too late…"

"Do you really think that the best course of action?"

Pluto only wished she could pretend she didn't understand what the Princess meant. What the Princess was asking of her was more than Pluto could do. To change the future by making one of those threads shine that she'd spent so long following at the Doors. A future of seeing Taiki smile, of seeing the sadness leave her eyes, of spending endless nights lost in her embrace.

Maker and Fighter and Healer were Kinmoku's guardians, and Pluto was not. She was charged with defending Earth's past and future, and she knew that straying from her mission to return the Crystal to Kinmoku would have its consequences.

"I'll tell Maker," Pluto whispered. "I'll tell her that I love her, when I take the Crystal back. That is the most I can promise."

Reaching out, Pluto picked up the glowing Crystal. The Princess didn't try to stop her. Her expression was impossible to read, leaving Pluto with no hint of whether she approved or not.

The Crystal glowed warm and soft in the palm of Pluto's hand, and she caught a scent similar to the sweet scent she'd sometimes smelled on Taiki's skin. She looked at the Princess one last time. "How do you know that this enemy won't find you again once the Crystal is returned?"

"It might," said the Princess.

"Then what is the good of any of this? Why take it away at all?"

"In the future, if that enemy finds us again, I hope we'll be strong enough to withstand it." The Princess almost chuckled. "That is what the seers tell me, anyway. They say our chances are much better in the future. But perhaps it all depends on how much strength we find within ourselves, to allow our spirits to grow."

There was no answer Pluto could think to give her. She was afraid to ask again if she could take the Crystal from its chamber, in case the Princess stopped her. With a flick of her staff, Pluto was back at the Doors again. She cradled the Crystal in her hand as gently as she would her lover's star seed.

The Doors opened at Pluto's command, and she prepared to step through. All around her she could feel the threads of reality shifting in response to the action she was about to take. But the Earth was safe. No harm would come to it if she changed Kinmoku's fate; she could see its future shining as brightly as her Princess's Silver Crystal.

Her own thread she didn't look at. There was nothing there worth seeing. But Maker she could see, still alive, still fighting, still with the chance of a future if Pluto stepped through the Doors and gave her what she should have all along.

Perhaps not what Kinmoku's Princess would have had her do, but it was as much as Pluto could do, without breaking her word.

The Crystal glowed with a soft mauve light that reminded her of Taiki's eyes. Pluto's heart tightened to think she would soon see her again – alive, not falling to her death on a crumbling world. For one last time perhaps Pluto could touch her, and bring a little of her warmth back to the cold emptiness of the Doors. Something real to stave off the loneliness. Something more powerful than the dreams she'd been starving on for the last thousand years.

"I can show them the way," she whispered. "The way to cross the years. The way to Babylon."


	9. Chapter 9

"Damn it, it's not working. Why isn't it working?" In the High Temple, Fighter paced like a caged tiger, watching Princess Kakyuu and the team of scientists working on the Sacred Crystal.

"It's not working because the Crystal is broken," Healer drawled, the taut stance of her body belying her casual tone.

Fighter cursed again. "We're nearly out of time."

Paladin, the solider in charge of leading the planet's evacuation reentered the temple just then, prompting Fighter to approach her and ask in a low voice, "how is the evacuation going?"

"We've gotten away as many as we can," Paladin said. They both knew just how small that number was, but they'd done the best they could with their limited fleet and no set destination planet for those who were fleeing. "The last ship is about to leave."

"Hold it until the Princess is on board."

Approaching the Princess, Fighter touched her gently on the shoulder. "Princess Kakyuu, it's time to go. Our planet isn't going to make it."

Kakyuu shook her head, her eyes burning with stubborn determination. "My place is here, working on the Crystal. But I want all of you to go." Her gaze took in the remaining sailor soldiers and the team of scientists working alongside. "The survivors of Kinmoku will need to be protected."

The depth of Fighter's frustration was matched only by her fear. Not fear for herself, but for her Princess. She didn't want Kakyuu's end to be here on her crumbling planet, enduring a lonely death surrounded by the bodies of her soldiers.

"Please Princess," she begged. "You must go. As long as you survive, there might be a way to resurrect our planet one day."

"And there might be a way now. I'm not leaving."

Fighter felt Healer and Maker moving to stand on either side of her.

"Then we're not leaving either," said Healer.

Nodding in agreement, Star Maker added, "our place is by your side, always."

The earth trembled beneath them, and Paladin held two fingers to her ear as she received a message on her com unit. "The ship can't delay any longer. It must leave now."

"Right." If she'd had more time, Fighter might have seriously considered bodily manhandling Kakyuu onto that ship, but she knew full well her Princess's powers were more formidable than her own and that she had little chance of subduing her under the circumstances.

But that didn't mean there weren't still other lives she could save. She swept her eyes over the remaining scientists and sailor soldiers, leaving out only Healer and Maker. "The last ship is leaving! I want everyone here aboard. Now!"

No one moved. A few of the scientists had already gone back to work on the Crystal again, along with Princess Kakyuu.

Hands forming into fists, Fighter raised her voice angrily. "You think you fools can do anything here? There's no point staying to protect those of us with a death sentence. It's the living who will need your help. Now get out of here, all of you. That's an order!"

With the help of Healer and Maker, she began shoving people towards the outside of the temple, sweat dripping down her face. There was a heaviness in the air that seemed to make it difficult to breathe, an ominous stillness that boded of terrible things to come.

Rushing into the open, Fighter saw the last few soldiers aboard. Paladin was last of all, her tortured expression saying fleeing from danger like this went against every senshi instinct she possessed. Fighter gave her a grin and a jaunty salute as the hatch closed and the ship safely departed. Probably if she'd been Star Maker she would have thought of some profound parting statement to make, but as it was, it was enough for her to know some remnant of her people would survive.

Re-entering the Temple, she swore. Maker and Healer were still fruitlessly trying to pry a number of scientists away from the Crystal.

"Forget about that," she said shortly. "It's too late now. The ship's gone."

Smoothing her hair, the lead scientist said, "we're not soldiers, anyway. You can't order us around. Now." She directed her next comment at the few scientists still left, along with Princess Kakyuu. "Let's keep trying."

That feeling in the air was getting worse. Fighter, Healer and Maker ranged themselves around the room without discussion, all knowing they would hold off the inevitable for as long as possible.

It wasn't the first apocalypse Fighter had faced on this planet, but there was one crucial difference this time that fortified her warrior's heart and made it beat loudly, almost joyfully, in her chest. She wasn't going to run. She was going to meet death head on and burn as brightly as she could until her star went out.

* * *

Maker noticed Fighter and Healer's eyes meet for a moment, saying a silent goodbye. It might have made her feel lonely if not for the fact that Fighter caught her eye just afterwards and threw her an exaggerated kiss that held real warmth behind it. Rolling her eyes, Maker went back to waiting. There was nothing else to do.

Everyone staggered as a massive tremor hit and the stink of sulfur tainted their lungs. That sense of failure and doom Maker had first felt back in Tokyo, that had never quite left her since, reared its ugly head again as she acknowledged her own impending death.

The end was about to begin.

At first, Maker thought she was imagining it; a memory seeping up from her unconscious, the need for suppression finally gone as the world teetered on the brink of destruction. The scent of mystery that stirred her blood, the warmth that made her skin tingle.

But it wasn't just a memory. There was a crimson light growing in the centre of the temple, and with a crack like thunder Pluto appeared, holding a glowing Crystal in her hand. She glanced about quickly, as if to check she was in the right place, then hurried over to Princess Kakyuu and handed her the Crystal.

"Quickly," she said.

Kakyuu cast the broken Crystal aside, which Pluto promptly smashed with the Garnet Rod.

Fighter took a menacing step forward, incensed questions already forming on her lips.

"The two Crystals are from different times," Pluto said calmly. "They can't co-exist. Now Princess, please hurry. This planet is almost out of time."

Looking like she barely dared to draw breath, Kakyuu placed the fully functional Crystal on the empty pedestal. For a few moments nothing changed, and Star Maker feared they might already be too late, but then the planet seemed to release a great sigh and the tension in the air evaporated as twin beams of light shot out of the Healing Crystal and the Sacred Crystal together. Strands of rose and mauve energy spiraled round one another, forming a ring all around the circular inner walls of the temple. Sweet, gentle harmonies began to hover just on the edges of hearing, filling Star Maker's heart with sorrow and joy that was almost overwhelming.

What she was witnessing now no one alive on this planet had ever seen. This was how the two Crystals were supposed to work together, sustaining each other in a circle of power that could never be broken. It was exactly like the descriptions Star Maker had read.

Pluto had just saved their world.

"Sailor Pluto…" For once, the normally composed Princess of Kinmoku lost her poise and nearly collapsed into Pluto's arms, shoulders shaking, tears streaming down her face, as she murmured over and over again, "thank you, thank you."

Not saying anything, Pluto patted the Princess awkwardly on the back and gave her over into Fighter's willing care as soon as possible.

She seemed completely oblivious of the dirty look Fighter gave her as she made her way over to Star Maker with purposeful intent. "Could we talk for a moment? Privately?"

What could Maker do but nod, and tilt her head towards the plateau outside?

The High Temple was built on a mountain overlooking Kinmoku's largest city, and far below, Star Maker could see that those who hadn't made it off the planet were beginning to cautiously emerge from their houses, wondering at the sudden stillness.

A cool, fresh breeze was blowing, clearing the air and plucking the petals of sweet olives from the trees. They crushed them underfoot as they walked, and the scent of the blossoms rose to envelop them, as heady as the elixir of a dream.

"Why did you come back, Setsuna?" Star Maker whispered, noticing the way Pluto's eyes devoured the sight of her hungrily.

Pluto's eyes…Star Maker had never seen them like this before, so distant and lonely. She wondered how many years of solitude Pluto had endured to look like that, and then tried to harden her heart remembering that it was a fate Pluto had inflicted upon herself.

She tried to flinch away as Pluto reached out to touch her, but Pluto's fingers unerringly followed, gently smoothing her cheek. "I was wrong, Taiki. So very wrong. I'm sorry." A gentle kiss followed, tasting of solitude and sadness. "I love you. I should have told you that night."

"Setsuna – I don't understand. How did you find the Crystal? How did you get here?"

"I don't have the time to explain."

" _You_ don't have the time?"

"No." Pluto shook her head. "My time on this plane on existence has almost run out, because of what I did. Your world wasn't supposed to be saved, but I don't regret it, Taiki. Not for a moment."

Star Maker covered Pluto's hand with her own, the warmth of possibility flowing into her and making her skin glow China Pink with power, her fingers at last no longer cramped and empty.

"This can't be goodbye already," she begged with quiet desperation.

Pluto laughed through the tears glimmering in her eyes. "Every time we find each other, we lose one another again just as quickly, it seems."

There was some significance to Pluto's tone that Taiki didn't understand, but there wasn't time to ask. There wasn't time for anything except a brief embrace, and then Pluto disappeared from her arms, her body returning to the glittering stardust from which they'd all been formed and then even that faded to nothing in the sunlight, and Pluto was gone once more from the world.

* * *

With her head still buried stubbornly under the covers, Haruka reached out with a searching hand and nearly swept the ringing phone from the nightstand, only just managing to catch the handset as it fell.

"Yes, hello?"

She made only a minimal effort to sound civil. Anyone who called this early on a Sunday shouldn't get the idea it was a reasonable thing to make a habit of.

"Haruka," said Rei's voice, tightened by an edge of worry, "I need to talk to Michiru."

"She's asleep. Can't you call back later?"

"It's nearly nine-thirty!"

"But it's Sunday," Haruka insisted, while from beside her Michiru stirred and said regretfully,

"I _was_ asleep, Haruka. Who is it?"

"Rei."

Michiru held out a hand for the phone with a look of resignation. Haruka relinquished it, but not before stealing a quick kiss, ignoring the muffled screech coming from the earpiece that sounded something like,

"oh my god, stop that, I can _hear_ what you're doing; seriously what is _wrong_ with you—"

"Good morning Rei," Michiru said smoothly, once she'd pried the phone from Haruka's grip. "What can I do for you?"

She settled back, listening intently, and with a sigh Haruka got out of bed and pulled on a robe, giving Michiru's shoulder a last lingering touch before she went downstairs.

The overcast day had a curious quality, like it wasn't quite there. Haruka frowned as she made coffee for herself and tea for Michiru, trying to pin down the source of the feeling, but it danced teasingly beyond her grasp. All she came up with was that it was February 29, the day that only existed once every four years, but she'd never experienced one that roused this disquiet, like being trapped in an innocent-seeming dream that was yet full of the threat of monsters.

Her coffee was half drunk by the time Michiru came down. Haruka slid the pot of tea towards her, checking first to make sure it was still hot.

"If we're being pestered this early in the morning, I take it we're not going to have a nice quiet Sunday?"

With a smile of thanks for the tea, Michiru poured herself a cup, took a sip and said, "Rei thinks something very bad is going to happen today. But my Mirror is showing almost nothing. All I saw was a glimmer of those caves."

"The caves? We've checked them a thousand times. They're clear."

"I know, Haruka."

"Could something be interfering with your Mirror?"

"I don't know." Michiru hesitated. "This day…Doesn't feel quite real."

"No, it doesn't," Haruka agreed. "It feels weird."

"Perhaps something is interfering with us, distorting reality…"

"Well, if the caves are the only lead we have to go on, I guess we'd better check them out again."

"Mmm," said Michiru, sounding distracted.

"Michiru?"

Michiru refocused her gaze on Haruka's face. "I just hope this isn't anything to do with Setsuna leaving. She was so sure nothing would happen, yet you and I have both been feeling something bad coming. And Taiki told me yesterday she doesn't feel like her team is going to find the Crystal. That's why she's been avoiding Seiya and Yaten. She doesn't want her hopelessness to infect them."

"What was it you said to Setsuna? That her leaving was going to have bad consequences for both our worlds?"

"I don't know why I said that, but…This day, Haruka. I don't like it."

"Let's just get to work and try and get it over with then, shall we?"

Unhappily, Michiru nodded her agreement. 

* * *

Once they'd scoured a good part of the sea-caves and found nothing, Uranus ventured a question that had little to do with their current mission, but which had been niggling at her since the day before.

"Neptune, did you ever get the impression that Se—I mean, Fighter and Healer might be, er, romantically involved?"

She felt Neptune glance at her in surprise. "No, I didn't. What makes you think—?"

"When I saw them yesterday…" Uranus shrugged helplessly. "I can't really explain it. It wasn't anything obvious. They just leaned their bodies towards each other unconsciously, like…They wanted to be near one another."

Neptune hummed thoughtfully. "Well, it wouldn't be the first time two senshi have fallen in love, would it?"

"Really, Neptune. I _hope_ you are not comparing our situation to theirs!"

Laughter lurked in Neptune's voice. "I might have been talking about Pluto and Maker. Or…"

Her words died as something shimmered in the large cave they'd just entered. Uranus recognised it as part of the network she'd cleared out with Fighter's help when Neptune was away, and her eyes widened in disbelief as all of the eggs she'd previously destroyed flickered back into existence and began to mature with frightening speed.

A distant roar assured her that it wasn't just the eggs that were returning.

"Neptune," she said urgently, "we need to get out of here."

"We can't fight them?"

"We can, but not like this. We'll be overwhelmed."

Both their communicators started beeping madly, and almost in the same instant a monster arm smashed its way through one of the eggs.

Uranus cut the thing down with her Sword before it had even fully emerged, but many more of the eggs were starting to tremble.

In the few moments it took Uranus to deal with the monster, Neptune quickly answered her communicator. "We're a little busy now. We'll get back to you. Neptune out."

Uranus's blood was pounding with adrenaline as she looked at her partner with the light of battle in her eyes. "Well Neptune, are you ready to run?"

The smile Neptune gave her was soft and wild all at once. "With you, always."

As they fled, blasting their way through whatever stood in their path, Neptune got out, a hint of smug satisfaction in her tone, "well, at least we know one thing."

"What's that?"

"My Mirror was right about the caves."

* * *

As soon as Pluto was back at the Doors, she knew something was wrong. Prior to her intervention on Kinmoku, there'd been no indication that changing the fate of that one distant planet would alter anything in other parts of the timestream. The only alteration she'd foreseen was herself being forbidden from entering the world, and it wasn't as if that was much of a change from the position she was already in.

But now, somewhere, a world was spinning in turmoil, and Pluto knew exactly which one it was.

"No!" she cried, opening the Doors with a wave of her Rod. Instinctively she tried to step through, forgetting the very deal she'd just struck, and the Doors blasted her back and sent her flying. She landed hard and pulled herself half upright with her staff, panting and staring in wide-eyed horror at what was happening on Earth.

Saving Kinmoku had created a rift; torn a hole right through the fabric of Earth's reality. Perhaps it was some kind of mystic trade off. Kinmoku's fate was meant to be set and Pluto had colluded in changing it, and now, this was the price. And Pluto had expected, had known, there would be a price, but this. This was a price she couldn't afford.

She was paying for Kinmoku with the future she'd spent thousands of years safeguarding, and the lives of all her friends. There were two Earths now, and one would keep turning; the one filled with bustling people and mundane things in which those magical beings known as senshi had never been. For all of them had fallen through the crack, and as they fell, other things had been dislodged also.

Endless armies of monsters brought back to life, clawing their way out of oblivion thanks to that one tiny shift. This, Pluto realised with a sick twist in her gut, was the source of that faint disturbance she'd sensed so many weeks ago, the night after she'd first had Taiki in her bed. The monsters would keep coming and coming. No matter how hard her friends fought they could never hope to subdue them all, and they'd be overwhelmed in the end, every single one.

Pluto's lips set in a thin line of determination. Climbing to her feet, she touched her Rod to the world she could see shimmering on the other side of the Doors, pouring every ounce of strength she possessed into breaking through the barrier.

Each muscle screamed in agony as she pushed and pushed against the limits of her destiny. Her uniform darkened with sweat. Her hair hung in damp lank tendrils about her face. Perhaps, just for a moment, a tiny gap appeared, but the breach was nowhere near large enough for her to pass through.

Utterly drained, she sank to her knees, gasping for breath, her hands still clenched around the Garnet Rod. Then she gritted her teeth, got up, and tried again.

* * *

Seiya had declared that today was to be a day of mandatory fun. Fun, for her, might have meant going to the amusement park, playing football, or singing drunken karaoke with Minako in a bar somewhere, but since it was Taiki she was thinking of, Seiya instead selected the Museum of Contemporary Art and did her best not to let the other two see how horribly bored she was as they ambled through room after room of paintings.

Just how Yaten and Taiki had managed to learn so much about the art of Earth Seiya had no idea, but they seemed to feel compelled to stop before almost every work and discuss its merits for several minutes at least. Mentally, Seiya began to calculate how long it would be before she could reasonably suggest they have lunch. The answer was too many paintings.

Yaten announced she was going to the bathroom as they arrived at a canvas filled with jagged colour.

Doing her best to step into the breach, Seiya offered to Taiki, "wow, that's…Striking."

Taiki frowned. "Do you think so? I'd say the technique is poorly executed and the emotion is lacking in depth…"

When Taiki didn't add anything else, Seiya glanced at her to see if she was waiting for her to offer further opinions, and saw that her gaze had been arrested by a small alcove separated from the main gallery by heavy dark curtains drawn half shut.

"That alcove." There was a wistful expression on Taiki's face. "I wonder what's inside."

Like someone half in a dream she wandered towards it, ignoring Seiya's attempts to discreetly herd her in another direction. While Seiya had no idea what was behind the curtain, she could already feel the power emanating from it.

"Taiki," she insisted, "Why don't we go and check out…Uh, water closets throughout art history? Today's the last day! Wouldn't want to miss that!"

"Do you even know what a water closet is, Seiya?" Taiki said vaguely as she neatly shook herself out of Seiya's grip and disappeared behind the curtain.

With a curse, Seiya followed her.

The small space she found herself in was almost dark except for a spotlight positioned above the only painting in the room. Great double doors reared out of a thick swirling mist, and there was a figure, barely able to be seen, little more than a shape in the mist with her hair blowing behind her and sadness etched into a few lines of profile.

It was titled _Loneliness_ , and of course it was Michiru's work. Seiya had only a hazy idea of the history of the Outer Soldiers, most of which she'd learned from Usagi, but she thought the date on the painting preceded Michiru's meeting with Setsuna in this world. Maybe even her meeting with Haruka. Maybe even her Awakening.

Trust Michiru to have the arrogance to stamp her tortured dreams all over Tokyo.

"Setsuna," whispered Taiki, longing in her voice and pain gleaming in her eyes, far more pain than Seiya ever wanted to see.

"Right, that's it." Seiya gritted her teeth in annoyance and grabbed Taiki's arm again. "This whole venture was a bad idea. We're finding Yaten and getting out of here."

Something erupted into the atmosphere that Seiya could only describe as the feeling of falling into a deep, swirling vortex. The painting was shimmering like a sheet of water, and Seiya could almost swear that she saw the half-glimpsed figure moving.

"Something's gone wrong," Taiki said. Her fingertips glowed pink with power as she reached out to touch the painting. "Setsuna…"

To Seiya's horror, Taiki's fingers disappeared, followed by the rest of her as she deliberately stepped right into the painting.

"Taiki, what the hell are you doing? Get back here!"

But though Seiya tried, the painting would not open for her, and she only battered her fists against paint and canvas.

And whatever that feeling was in the air, it was getting infinitely worse. The curtains were suddenly thrown back as Yaten entered the alcove, a look of incredulity on her face as she took in what Seiya was doing.

"Seiya? Why are you beating up that painting? Where's Taiki?"

Giving the heavy, ornate frame a frustrated kick and chipping off some of the gilt, Seiya snarled, "I'm beating up the stupid painting because it took Taiki! It's Michiru's work, and it's a painting of Setsuna, and it came to life, and—Those fucking Outer Soldiers! They're ruining my life!"

Walking over to Seiya and the painting, Yaten placed a dainty hand against the canvas. "I can't feel anything. What do you mean it took her?"

"I mean, when there was that big wave of…Something…The painting shimmered and came to life and Taiki stepped right into it. Deliberately. And I tried to follow, but…"

"You couldn't get through."

Dejectedly, Seiya shook her head.

"Whatever happened…It's over now. I don't think we're going to get Taiki back that way. Not right now, anyway. And I think we should get out of here, Seiya."

"Why?"

"When that wave of energy hit, people started disappearing. I don't know what's going on, but it can't be anything good."

Seiya stared a little longer at the painting, worry gnawing at her like a hungry predator. "What if Taiki needs us? What if she tries to get back and we're not here?"

"She knows how to take care of herself. Right now, we should find a safe location. Or at least a defensible one."

Though reluctant, Seiya had to admit Yaten was right, and she followed Yaten away from the alcove with a last, long backwards glance. The art museum appeared to be completely deserted, and outside it wasn't any better. Stopped cars stood empty all up and down the roads; nothing moved along the pavements; shops and stalls were like deserted theatre sets, waiting for actors to bring them back to life. The city appeared to have been emptied of all life except for the two them.

"What's going on?" Seiya wondered, trepidation creeping into her voice.

"Seiya." Yaten grabbed her arm. "We need to transform, now. Something really bad is coming."

"I knew it." Seiya sighed. "This is what happens when I do cultural things. It brings on the end of the world."

Yaten rolled her eyes at Seiya's histrionics, and took out her brooch.


	10. Chapter 10

Uranus and Neptune burst out of the caves with an uncountable number of monsters roaring at their heels. Luckily the tide was out, allowing them to position themselves at the cave mouth and begin blasting as soon their foes started to emerge.

The monster ranks showed no signs of abating, and both soldiers knew it was only a matter of time before their thin line of defense was broken. There were simply too many of the scaly creatures to hold them off forever.

Again, their devices went off.

"Uranus, Neptune," said Jupiter's voice. The signal was very weak, and the words so distorted it was difficult to make them out. "All the people have disappeared from the city; there's only us sailor soldiers left. We need you to help us protect Sailor Moon. Tuxedo Mask was attacked—"

Both communicators went dead at the same moment. Uranus and Neptune exchanged a glance. If there were no civilians to protect, they both knew there was little need to stay here when their princess needed them.

"We'll use the Mirror to transport," said Neptune, diving to Uranus's side and grabbing her hand. The surface of the Mirror crackled with what looked like jagged forks of lightning, and then went completely dark.

"Apparently not," Uranus said.

A quick test confirmed the Mirror was still working as a weapon, but Neptune could feel a barrier preventing her from accessing most of her talisman's other powers. It could well be why their communicators had cut out as well.

Uranus demolished another rank of monsters. "I don't think I can teleport at all. You?"

"No. Something is causing serious distortions…"

"We can't lead these monsters to the princess." Uranus's brief skyward glance was the only warning Neptune had before she was swept up into the air, far faster than she ever would have been able to fly on her own.

Wrapping her arms securely around Uranus's neck, Neptune commented, "a little warning next time?"

"Sorry." Uranus's mouth tilted into a smile. "Didn't want to tip the enemy off." Her arms were steady around Neptune's waist as they streaked into the sky over the city. Even with all the distortions, they could roughly feel where the others were, and soon landed in a deserted shopping district not too far from Hikawa Shrine.

Venus immediately paced over to them in a blood-spattered uniform, fire burning in her eyes. "Where the hell were you two? We have a crisis here!"

"We were dealing with our own crisis," said Uranus evenly, ignoring the shortness in Venus's tone. Like Neptune, she was checking the numbers of the current party. Only Venus, Jupiter and Moon were present. "Where are the others?"

"Mars and Mercury got Tuxedo Mask to the shrine just before we lost teleporting and communication. The rest of us were locked in battle—"

Neptune's senses prickled. The monsters from the sea-caves were fast approaching, probably drawn by the concentration of all their magical energy.

"Is the shrine secure?" she said, interrupting Uranus and Venus. "Mercury and Mars were working on that shield to keep enemies out…"

"It's finished," said Venus. "Never been tested, though."

"Then it's about to be. Take the Princess and run."

Sailor Moon immediately shook her head. "No! We're not leaving anyone behind."

Already the first ranks of monsters from the caves were starting to appear in the distance.

Venus and Uranus exchanged a glance. There might be too many monsters here for even their Princess to overcome, and if there was to be any hope of putting this situation right, they both knew Usagi had to survive.

"Jupiter!" Venus barked. "Get Sailor Moon. We're leaving."

Jupiter immediately got Usagi into a vice-like grip, holding on determinedly as she struggled.

Taking another glance at the fast approaching monsters, Neptune felt both her fear and her irritation rising. Unless the others left now, escape would no longer be an option.

Reassuringly, she placed a hand on her Princess's shoulder and smiled. "It's all right. Uranus and I will meet you at the shrine. I promise."

"You're lying! You're going to try and sacrifice yourselves again, like you always do."

"We'll be right behind you," Neptune whispered. "We'll never leave your side." She kept any hint of deceit from her eyes as she met Usagi's gaze. Usagi's maturity had come a long way in the last few years, but there were still things she would always prefer not to believe. Even as she accused Neptune of lying, she didn't want to consider that it might actually be true. She was looking for reassurance she was wrong, not confirmation she was right, and Neptune used that miscalculation shamelessly against her.

"We'll see you soon, princess," Uranus added. Her voice was soft as a caress. "Take care."

Visibly steeling their hearts, Venus and Jupiter managed to get Moon turned in the direction of the shrine and dragged her along until she was moving of her own accord. Unlike Usagi, they hadn't been fooled. They knew Uranus and Neptune weren't going to follow.

* * *

As the monsters drew closer, Uranus brushed her eyes over Neptune in a glance filled with longing and regret. "I was really beginning to think we might make it," she said, an extra husk in her tone. "That there might be a place in the future for us."

Neptune clasped her hand, feeling Uranus's steady warmth, a thousand memories flashing by of a life lived fearlessly, never letting go of love even when the shadows of battle so often overtook them. "Our place has always been beside each other, Haruka. As long as we have that, nothing else matters."

Something in Uranus's expression eased, her lips losing that twisted line of pain Neptune hated every time she saw it. "You're right."

They shared a long look with their hands still intertwined, then they readied their talismans and the monsters were upon them.

* * *

"Watch out!" Fighter blasted apart a large tentacle that had just erupted from the pavement, grabbed onto Healer and been about to slam her into the side of a building.

Set free, Healer rolled as she fell, quickly sprang to her feet and resumed running alongside Fighter. "Where are all these monsters coming from? I don't get it."

"Who knows? We should try and meet up with Moon and the others. Are you sure they're still in the city?"

"Yes. It's difficult to tell where exactly…" Healer slowed, then stopped altogether.

"Healer?"

" _Those_  two are in trouble." The tone of her voice made it obvious who she meant.

"Uranus and Neptune? Can you find them?"

Healer looked extremely put upon. "If I have to. You want to go help them, don't you?"

"Well, we are guests on this planet and it would help to foster good relations. I think it's what our Princess would want us to do, don't you?"

"When we get there, I bet the first thing Uranus will do is insult us."

"Probably. But would you really be okay if something happened to them and we could have helped prevent it? You'd be okay with seeing Sailor Moon crying over their broken corpses? You'd be okay with seeing Maker heartbroken because they were Pluto's family?"

"Don't go all melodramatic," Healer grumbled. "We'll go help them out. I'm just saying…It would be nice if they occasionally said thank you."

"There's a first time for everything."

Healer gave an unimpressed sigh. "Sometimes, Fighter, your optimism is just depressing."

* * *

Uranus and Neptune were still holding the monsters back, but only just. The pile of corpses in front of them rose higher and higher with each new attack they launched, but no matter how many of the creatures they killed more kept coming, climbing over the bodies of their fallen brethren without a care and slowly inching their advance forward.

A group of monsters that were larger than the others, and perhaps smarter too, made a concerted effort and rushed at them, succeeding in muscling their way through the barrier Uranus and Neptune were trying to maintain. They targeted Uranus first, who went down fighting underneath a pack of scaly hides, and before Neptune could act she was overwhelmed herself, pinned beneath at least five monsters intent on crushing the life out of her.

She heard Uranus give a cry of pain and managed to fight one arm free, throwing the light of her Mirror right into the snarling face of the monster on top of her. She'd had little time to build much power into the attack, but it was enough to get that one off her at least.

A World Shaking blasted through the space above her, taking out the rest. Neptune was on her feet immediately, and fear stabbed into her heart at what she saw – the kind of fear that no monster, no matter how terrifying, could ever make her feel.

Uranus was tottering on her feet, one hand clenched to her side, blood leaking out from between her fingers.

"Run," she croaked, and unspoken was  _leave me behind_. Neptune knew that meant the wound had to be bad, bad enough that Uranus thought she wasn't going to recover from it.

Something snapped in Neptune and she sent a massive wave crashing down the street, taking out nearly every monster in the vicinity.

"I'm not going anywhere without you, Uranus."

Uranus wouldn't be able to make it far, but that didn't mean Neptune wasn't going to do everything she could to prolong their lives for as long as possible. She put Uranus's arm over her shoulder, tucked her own arm tight around Uranus's waist, and ran with her at a staggering pace to the nearest shop on the street.

It was, of all things, a florist. Placing Uranus down gently next to a display of tulips and ignoring her streaming protests, Neptune hastily set up a small portable shield that Mercury had been working on for situations just like this.

Chances were it wouldn't last long against an onslaught of this magnitude, but at least it would buy them a little more time. The next wave of scaly cave monsters was still some distance away, and Neptune used the opportunity to find a first-aid kit and attend to Uranus's deep, jagged bite wound as best she could.

"Neptune," Uranus repeated yet again as she worked, "you have to get out of here. We both know I'm already dead. But I can hold them off long enough to give you a head start. You can still make it to the shrine."

"Uranus," said Neptune, glancing into her pain-filled eyes. "You know I'm not going to leave you. We face our fate together."

Uranus's breath was coming far too quickly, and she was losing colour fast. Already the bandage Neptune had just applied was starting to stain. Despite all that, she gave Neptune a sallow grin. "Well, it was worth a try."

Her smile faded as she said, "for all this to be happening, Pluto must be trouble. Nothing else could be causing so much distortion."

"I know. But we have no way of helping her right now."

Whatever was happening, it was progressively getting worse. There was a heaviness in Neptune's body now, a feeling of being chained to the Earth. They weren't going to be able to use flight to get out of here.

The shield flickered warningly. The latest wave of monsters had caught up with them and was swarming outside. With Neptune's help Uranus staggered to her feet, ashen and dripping blood.

"You should take my Sword. You can make better use of it right now than I can."

Neptune shook her head, closing Uranus's fingers around the pro-offered sword. "Keep it," she said softly. "You'll need it if anything gets past me."

Fondly, Uranus replied, "nothing will get past you." Her voice dropped and her eyes gentled as their bloodied hands continued to clasp over the hilt of the Sword. "Michiru, you know that I—"

"I know, Haruka. You show me every day."

The glass of the shop front cracked warningly. Neptune let go of Uranus's hands and turned, readying herself for the fight that would begin at any moment.

"Stay behind me," she said over her shoulder, though really there was no need. Uranus wasn't about to make their situation even more difficult out of some misguided sense of ego.

"Send a wave through the door when they get here," Uranus panted. "I'll strengthen it with wind. Should take care of the first few ranks."

"Right."

The shield blinked out and the window glass shattered. Monsters poured into the shop only to be crushed by a wall of seawater backed by a mighty wind. But as soon as the attack cleared more were rushing into the gap. Neptune wondered how there could possibly be so many of these scaly cave creatures – had the original infestation really been so bad, or were they just multiplying out of control, able to exploit whatever had gone wrong on this plane of existence to keep infinitely swelling their ranks?

Uranus continued to push them back with wind while Neptune used her Mirror to disintegrate as many as possible. They were fighting with their backs to the wall, trying to keep out of range, but even so monsters were starting to slip through. Grunting with effort, Uranus felled two with her Sword, one after the other, trembling so hard she nearly dropped her weapon.

She was determined, and she was hanging in there, but Neptune could tell Uranus was afraid. The moment was coming when one of them would slip and they'd both be taken down, and Neptune saw the look Uranus cast her way; the one that said she'd make any sacrifice to try and get Neptune out of this alive. Endure anything to spare herself the sight of her lover being torn apart by their foes.

Alarm suddenly shot into Uranus's eyes and she grabbed Neptune and pulled her to the ground as a bright blue beam of energy exploded into the space they'd been standing in moments ago.

Fighter and Healer burst into the breach the beam had created, and Healer dispatched the monsters still in the shop while Fighter threw up what looked like a series of tiny glittering stars. They expanded to erect a barrier that appeared far more solid than the one Neptune had used. Regaining her feet, Neptune helped Healer with the remaining monsters as much as she could, but she didn't leave Uranus's side. Uranus was still lying tumbled on the ground, and looking at her, Neptune knew she didn't have the strength to rise again.

She knelt back down as soon as the last monster fell, vainly offering what poor comfort she could as Uranus's expression contorted with pain. Realising how badly hurt Uranus was, Healer's eyes widened, her gaze flicking pityingly between the two Outer Soldiers as Fighter continued to fiddle with the barrier, still oblivious.

"Next time learn to aim, Fighter. You nearly took Neptune's head off."

At the gruff reprimand, Healer lost her look of sympathy and said scathingly, "are the words 'thank you' not in your vocabulary Uranus? We didn't have to come rescue you, you know."

"Uranus – Haruka." Neptune bit back further words, but her broken tone said everything. What was the point of arguments this close to the abyss of death?

Uranus's calloused sword hand touched her cheek. "Sorry," she whispered, her eyes tracing every detail of Neptune's face in defiance of the oblivion they both knew was creeping up on her.

Still working on the barrier, Fighter said distractedly, "there were so many monsters we couldn't even tell where you were. We just had to blast in and hope for the best."

Turning at last, she immediately caught sight of Uranus's wound and blanched. "Uranus…"

"Yeah I know." Uranus grimaced. "Listen Fighter, Healer. I need you to do something for me. Make sure Nep—"

"Shut up, Uranus!" Neptune said sharply. "Whatever you're going to say, it's a stupid plan and I hate it already and we're not leaving until someone comes up with a better one!"

A look passed between Fighter and Healer.

"Healer," said Fighter. "Can you…"

"She's dying," said Healer bluntly, nearly making Neptune want to wipe her out with a tsunami.

"I know." Fighter's voice was soft. "But can you?"

They continued to stare at each other, Healer's eyes stubbornly resisting whatever plea Fighter was making.

"You expect me to risk—"

"Could you really live with yourself if you didn't?"

Neptune was only half listening to their exchange. Uranus was barely even conscious now, her breaths coming faster and faster, her chest shaking with the force of her pounding heartbeats. Just what Fighter thought Healer could do Neptune didn't know, but if there was something, she needed her to do it now. And though part of Neptune wanted to use every threat of death and pain in her arsenal to  _make_ Healer comply, she knew that would only further antagonize her.

"Healer, please," she whispered, casting all her pride away and begging in a fear-choked voice. "If you can help Haruka I'll repay you with anything you want."

The appeal seemed to catch Healer off guard, her defiance wavering as shame and guilt began to chase each other through her eyes. "Honestly, Seiya," she muttered, kneeling down beside Uranus and elbowing Neptune away from the wound. "I don't understand you sometimes."

Fighter knelt down on Uranus's other side, an odd mixture of tension and relief seeming to fight for primacy within her. "It's because I know you can do this." In answer to Neptune's confused look, she added, "Yaten might be able to heal Uranus."

"What?"

"With a name like 'Healer', what did you think my powers were associated with? Flower arranging?"

Healer ironically nodded her head around the shattered florist with its trampled blooms as she began to cut away Uranus's sodden bandages, using a pair of scissors that were probably meant for trimming ribbons and wrapping paper.

"If you do that, she's going to bleed out!" Neptune exclaimed, nearly reaching to stop her.

"I have to touch the wound," Healer said irritably, cutting faster as Uranus's blood began to flow with alarming speed. She ripped aside the already mostly shredded portion of Uranus's uniform, exposing a chunk of flesh that looked as if it had nearly been bitten all the way through.

With a set expression, she placed her Star Yell against the wound and cried, "Star Healer Beam!"

A wash of pulsing yellow-green light expanded to engulf the wound and Uranus gasped, her limbs twitching painfully. Her eyes fluttered open, flicking from Healer to Neptune. A trickle of blood smeared her bottom lip from where she'd bitten into it with her teeth.

"What's happening?" she demanded, voice still autocratic despite her weakness.

"I'm trying to heal you," said Healer, sweat forming on her brow. "Be quiet."

Neptune found Uranus's hand, feeling her grip tighten as she repressed a groan of pain.

Healer glanced at her. "Sorry. This shouldn't be hurting. Your physiology must be slightly different from ours."

"Is it working?" Uranus bit out through clenched teeth.

"It's working," Neptune assured her. The wound was closing even as she spoke.

"Then just get on with it."

It only took a few more seconds, and one jagged scream from Uranus, for Healer to make the wound disappear completely.

As her breathing slowed, Uranus used Neptune's hand to pull herself up into a sitting position, poking cautiously at her newly whole skin.

"Thanks Healer. I owe you one."

Hunched over, Healer was shaking and gasping. Fighter had moved to place a protective arm around her shoulders, her thumb sweeping in a soothing motion up and down Healer's shoulder blade.

This, Neptune could only assume, was why Healer hadn't wanted to help Uranus. Perhaps the worse the injury, the more she herself became depleted as she healed.

It was Fighter who replied to Uranus's comment. "Good. In that case – I need the two of you to help me protect her."

"I don't need anyone's protection!" Healer bristled, still nearly doubled over.

"Yes, you do." The words had the sound of an oft-repeated argument. "Healing uses up your powers and weakens you, especially when you're treating a serious injury. You're an easy target right now and you know it. Look at you – I doubt you could even launch a single attack."

Healer muttered something that might have been an admission of Uranus's wound being a pretty bad one.

Shaking her head, Fighter produced a flask from somewhere and offered it to Healer, taking a couple of swings herself once Healer had finished and next holding it out to Uranus and Neptune.

"It's water from Kinmoku," she said. "Blessed by our princess. It will help your energy to replenish. At least, it does for us."

Both Uranus and Neptune sampled the water. Though Neptune didn't think its effects were all that potent – Kakyuu wasn't her princess after all – she did feel a boost in her recovery that gave her a little refreshment.

Though Healer still seemed drained, she too was looking better.

"Okay." Uranus picked up her Sword. "We need to make a run for it to Hikawa Shrine. That's where the others have gathered. Healer stays in the middle. Neptune and I will take point. Fighter, you can watch our backs. Any objections?"

Fighter's hand lingered briefly on Healer's leg. "None. Let's get out of here."

The four of them climbed laboriously to their feet. Neptune summoned her Mirror and Fighter and Healer had their Star Yells ready.

An army of monsters was waiting for them just beyond the barrier of stars.


	11. Chapter 11

As soon as the barrier dropped, Uranus, Neptune and Fighter launched their attacks to clear a passage, having already convinced a grumpy Healer to preserve her strength for what would no doubt be a gruelling struggle to the shrine.

They moved swiftly, Uranus and Neptune blasting whatever they could out of the way whilst Fighter kept up an almost continuous stream of Star Laser Beams shooting behind her, arcing and twisting and diving to keep up with the others.

Healer caught the odd monster that reached their flanks, or that got too close to Uranus and Neptune, but her attacks were still weak and rarely finished the monsters off unless they'd already sustained damage.

It was difficult, miserable going, but they persevered, and reached the stairs leading up to the Shrine faster than Healer expected. Grudgingly, she had to admit to herself that Uranus and Neptune were impressive – not only were they both powerful fighters, they worked together so effortlessly they seemed to always know intuitively what the other was thinking, never fumbling when support was needed, never missing on combination attacks that devastated their enemies before the monsters even realised they'd been launched.

When they finally paused to assess their next move, Healer stumbled and almost fell. Stars above she hated being like this, so utterly depleted and incompetent. A gloved hand steadied her shoulder, and she was surprised to find it was Neptune's. Her eyes were unusually warm and comforting, and whether consciously or otherwise, she stirred up a cooling salt breeze to caress Healer's overheated skin.

"Not much further," Neptune encouraged.

"Slight problem with that," said Fighter, causing Healer to look up and focus her attention on the stairs.

Monsters were crowding up the stairs, mostly the scaly ones they'd fought on the way here, but also an assortment of others that seemed to be erupting from who knew where. They could obviously sense the energy at the top of the Shrine, but so far they couldn't make it through whatever barrier was holding them back, only seething and swarming and gnashing their teeth in anger as they circled and circled, looking for a way in.

Just in case, Neptune tried her communicator. "It's still out. We can't let them know we're down here."

Uranus sent a World Shaking up the stairs. A Deep Submerge and Star Serious Laser soon followed. Power crackled in Healer's hands, but she couldn't make it go further, and she stopped trying after Fighter gave her a look that promised an extremely dull lecture later if she didn't stop.

The monster ranks thinned a little as the attacks hit, but there were more than enough scrambling up the hillsides to soon fill the stairs again, leaving them back where they started.

They needed a juggernaut to clear the way, and that meant Uranus or Fighter.

"I'll go first," Uranus and Fighter said at the same time, promptly followed by a mutual glare.

"I have a Sword," said Uranus, hefting the object in question.

Fighter rolled her eyes. "You and your Sword," she muttered.

"Perhaps the two of you could resolve this in the next five seconds?" Neptune suggested as monsters began closing in around them.

Uranus eyed the stair. "It's just wide enough for two. Fighter – can you power up that blazing body shield thing I've seen you do before?"

"No problem."

"Then we'll go together. But you'd better be able to keep up. I run fast."

"I'll cover your retreat," Neptune said, somewhat needlessly since there was no one else to do it.

Uranus nodded stiffly and held her eyes for a moment. "I expect to see you at the top."

"You will."

"Healer – stay right behind me and Fighter."

"Geez you don't have to tell me that," Healer muttered.

"Right." Uranus lifted her Sword in readiness. "Everyone in position? Let's go."

Uranus and Fighter were soon clearing a wide path up the Hill, the golden field of Uranus's Space Sword and Fighter's blue body shield blasting a wide swath of monster-free zone up each new increment of the stairs. But it was hard going, with more monsters always scrambling to replace those that had fallen while yet more swarmed up from below.

Without warning, Neptune stopped and turned, holding her position even as the others advanced. Healer looked back incredulously and slowed. "Neptune's going to get separated from us!"

Uranus yanked on her arm. "Keep moving!" she barked. Her face was set like granite. "Neptune knows that she's doing."

Healer watched in trepidation as monsters poured into the widening gap between Neptune and the three of them, but Neptune seemed unaffected. She just waited calmly, building a massive ball of energy between her hands until she was ready to release it, raising her arms and sending two great waves crashing down on either side of the hillside, sweeping away everything in their wake.

Swirling waters surged at her feet and sea spray reared up before her as the waves roared in salute. Facing upwards again, she used her Mirror to shatter the monsters still blocking her path and began running to catch up.

It was easier for Uranus and Fighter now. The only monsters left were those that had been able to crowd onto the stairs to escape the water, and with their numbers depleted they were no match. When Neptune had released her attack, there'd been a hopeful shout too from the top of the shrine, and soon cover fire from the Inner Senshi was streaming out to help them.

After expending so much energy already, Healer was starting to struggle though she'd done nothing but run up the stairs behind Uranus and Fighter. Her lungs were bursting with effort and sweat was dripping into her eyes. She stumbled, nearly losing her footing on the wet and slippery stairs and plunging one foot into the ocean. She could feel herself weaving on her feet and dropped to one knee as a bout of nausea hit.

Fighter noticed immediately and grabbed onto her.

"We're nearly there!" she yelled.

Uranus grabbed Healer's other arm without comment, and together she and Fighter practically dragged Healer up the last few stairs and over the brow of the hill.

As they passed easily through the barrier it immediately became quieter, the ocean Neptune had summoned fading to a distant roar, the howls of the monsters reduced to uneasy whispers borne on the wind.

Healer and Fighter collapsed in a heap but Uranus was already on her feet, looking back down the stairs towards Neptune as Mars, Venus and Jupiter came running to offer their assistance. Neptune had nearly made it – her fingertips just brushed Uranus's outstretched hand – and then with sickening speed a monster reared out of the sea and dragged Neptune down into the swirling waters.

"Neptune!" Uranus screamed, bolting upright and searching the waters desperately with her eyes.

Seeing what had happened, Venus didn't hesitate. She ran with the current, following the water until she caught a flash of aquamarine hair. Immediately she sent her sparkling chain into the sea, and as it caught on something she was nearly yanked right over the side of the hill into the ocean herself. Hastily, Uranus grabbed onto the chain from one side, stopping her trajectory, while Jupiter came and took up the other.

They began to pull, but nothing emerged. In a worried voice Uranus said, "we have to be careful. If something down there has Neptune trapped we could be hurting her."

"That's assuming we've got her at all," Venus grumbled.

Mars stood beside them with a flaming arrow cocked ready in her bow, but didn't release yet. It was impossible to see anything through the churning waters, and Mars couldn't risk hitting Neptune instead of the monsters that were, presumably, keeping her captive on the other end of Venus's chain.

"We need Mercury," said Venus in a clipped voice. "Where is she?"

"Looking after Mamoru," Jupiter replied.

Drawing in a breath, Venus bellowed, loud enough to make Uranus wince, "Artemis! Wherever you are, get out here!"

The little white cat soon bounded up to them from inside the temple, taking in the curious tableau the soldiers were holding. "Venus? What is it?"

"Go and find Mercury and tell her she's needed. Comforting a sobbing Uranus over Neptune's death is not on my list of things to do later on. Okay?"

Artemis nodded and made it back to the temple in a few large bounds.

The others held their positions and waited.

* * *

Not long after gaining the top of the stairs Healer had lapsed into unconsciousness. Fighter picked her up and carried her as far as the shrine's veranda, not knowing whether she should enter.

The others had their hands full trying to rescue Neptune, and Fighter could only hope they were able to save her. Lowering Healer gently onto the wooden boards of the veranda, Fighter did her best to try and warm her cold, clammy skin, her alarm growing steadily as Healer seemed to slip further and further away.

A familiar scent brushed over her; that scent that had always reminded Fighter of her princess, and she looked up to meet Sailor Moon's gentle eyes.

"Princess! You should go and help your soldiers. Neptune was taken…"

Struggling on a monster-riddled planet so far from her home, with Maker gone and Healer dangerously depleted, Fighter could feel the twin pressures of solitude and fear grinding into her. It was hard for her to remind Sailor Moon of where her priorities should lie, unpleasant to remember that her own life and the lives of her teammates meant not much at all to her present sailor soldier allies.

Sailor Moon looked towards her soldiers struggling next to the ocean, indecision flickering through her eyes before she turned back to Fighter. "Neptune's life force is still strong, and I have faith in my team. They'll be able to rescue her in time. I think right now it's Healer who is in need of help."

She knelt down and touched Healer's face. "What happened to her?"

"She's expended a great deal of energy. Maybe too much."

"Let's get her inside."

Easily picking up Healer's slight weight again, Fighter followed Sailor Moon into the shrine. Moon took them to a bedroom – Mars's if the photos littering the walls were anything to go by – and turned down the coverings on the bed.

"This should help her warm up," she said.

Looking at the crisp sheets, Fighter realised that Healer was none too clean, and neither was she.

"Are you sure Mars won't mind? Aren't there other rooms?"

"There is one other room free, but…"

"I guess that's for Uranus and Neptune, huh?"

Sailor Moon gave a slight nod, and patted the bed. "Don't be difficult, Seiya. Let me do something for Healer."

Fighter gave in with a nod and laid Healer down in Mars's bed, drawing the comforter up and tucking it around her. She noticed Luna padding into the room as she sat down next to Healer on the edge of the mattress.

"Hi Luna," she said softly, tears pricking her eyes as she felt how cold and limp Healer's hand was. "I'm afraid Yaten isn't doing so good."

Luna jumped up onto the bed and pawed at Yaten a little, giving a pitiful mew when she didn't respond.

Unveiling the light of the Silver Crystal, Sailor Moon held it out before her, sending warm, healing energy streaming over both of them. This was the first time since her return to Earth that Fighter had seen Moon's power, and she realised in that moment just how much stronger Moon had grown.

It was no longer so impossible to believe she might one day reign as Queen, illuminating all the world in gentle silver light.

Colour came back into Healer's cheeks and her lips were no longer deathly pale. She opened her eyes, blinking against the fading glow of the Crystal, and blushed when she saw Sailor Moon looking down at her with a smile.

"Princess, what are you doing? You shouldn't be wasting your powers on me—"

"It's all right, Healer. I can control the Silver Crystal better than when you knew me last. And I have no intention of losing anyone today."

There was worry in Sailor Moon's eyes, and a question she was too afraid to ask. It took Fighter a moment to put things together and understand she was indirectly asking what had happened to Maker.

"Maker is okay," she reassured. "At least, we think she is. She's just…In another dimension. Possibly. We need to talk to Neptune about it. Once Neptune is…Able to talk."

Relaxing a little, Sailor Moon nodded. "I need to go and check on everyone else, but Luna will stay with you and get you anything you need. Right Luna?"

"Of course," said Luna quickly. She always had liked Healer.

Healer scratched Luna's chin in appreciation, a weak smile flickering over her lips.

"What's happened to Neptune?" she asked after Sailor Moon left.

"She got dragged into the sea by a monster," said Fighter. "Everyone is still working to free her. Uranus is okay. At least – she's unhurt."

Repositioning Luna on her stomach, Healer made a non-committal noise. Luna circled a few times then curled up nose to tail, apparently more interested in catching a nap than listening in on Healer and Fighter's conversation.

Healer was still all prickles and frowns, angry at her own condition and maybe angry at Fighter too for asking her to show herself at her most vulnerable to the two people she perhaps liked least in the universe.

Usually, Fighter knew it was better not to cross Healer further when she was like this, but the amount of resistance Healer had shown to helping Uranus disturbed her. There was no love lost between the Outer Soldiers and the Starlights, but that didn't mean Fighter would ever be okay standing by and watching them die when there was something she could do to help.

"Yaten," she said quietly, "what you did back there wasn't okay. You can't just decide not to help someone who's dying in front of you. No matter how much you dislike them."

Her words were met with a furious flash of green eyes. "You never stop and think, Seiya. When I was talking about risking something back there, what did you think I meant? My life? I'm a soldier. I risk that all the time. But that exchange, under those circumstances…What if I'd ended up too weak to move? Or unconscious? You think Uranus and Neptune would have risked themselves for us? You think they  _wouldn't_  have left us behind? They care about their princess, not us. So it wasn't just my life I was risking. It was yours. It was the future of our planet."

"Maybe they would do something like that under other circumstances. But not when we'd just saved their lives. Even with you being exhausted, there was no question of leaving anyone behind. I doubt either of them even thought of it."

"And what if I hadn't been able to run? What if I hadn't even been conscious?"

"Then I would have carried you! You're tiny!"

"If you were carrying me, you wouldn't have been able to fight. Uranus and Neptune would have had to cover you the whole way. Slow and dangerous going. Are you  _really_  sure they would have done that? For us? Jupiter told me they once abandoned  _Chibiusa_  on the battlefield. They once killed Pluto and Saturn, their own damn family. Uranus once nearly killed Neptune. That's what they do to  _their own_. And yet you think their tender consciences would have stopped them from leaving  _us_  behind? Really, Seiya? That's what you think?"

"If that's what  _you_  think, why did you change your mind and help them?"

Yaten gave Seiya a frustrated look and rolled onto her side, facing the opposite wall and leaving Seiya with a view of tangled silver hair. "Neptune was so scared," she whispered. "I've never seen her scared. And I realised – If it was you…"

As a result of Yaten's movement, Luna had ended up on her back, paws in the air, body curved like a banana. Somehow, she was still asleep.

Bizarrely, Seiya's heart sped a little. She could count on the fingers of one hand the number of times Yaten had said or done anything that could even be called remotely romantic over the last six months. For the most part, she just wasn't the demonstrative type, unless sulking and yelling counted.

Stroking Yaten's hair smooth, Seiya murmured, "I love you too."

* * *

Being in the ocean, even one as wild as this, was not really a problem for Neptune. But being in an ocean infested with drowning monsters intent on tearing her limb from limb was rather another matter.

She fought them off as she tumbled along with the raging currents, until she saw the shining thread of Venus's chain coming towards her. Neptune grabbed onto it at the same moment that two monsters grabbed onto her.

* * *

"I'm here!" Mercury cried. She immediately snapped on her visor and looked into the swirling waters, occasionally flicking her gaze away long enough to tap on her computer. "There!" she said suddenly. "I can see her. She's got the chain, but there's two monsters holding onto her. One around her waist and the other wrapped around her legs."

"Damn it," said Mars. "I can't see anything."

Mercury pressed a button on her computer screen. "Mars, I've uploaded your aiming program to my computer. I can see where you're shooting with my visor. You need to go down and to the left. Yes, there. That's it! Shoot!"

Mars released a flaming arrow. It hissed at it disappeared into the water.

The chain gave a little.

"One more to go. Further up. Now!"

The second arrow shot into the water and a moment later the chain snapped free of restraint. Neptune emerged and went flying through the air, crashing into Uranus and knocking her onto her back.

Laughing in relief, Uranus hugged her tightly. "Neptune," she purred, "is now really the time?"

"Well, that uniform  _does_  suit you, Uranus, despite all your complaining."

"Oh good heavens get a room," Mars muttered.

"Oi you two, report," snapped Venus. "I said  _REPORT!_ "

Still lying in Uranus's arms, Neptune half turned her head. "The city is overrun with monsters and all the intra and inter-dimensional portals appear to be in flux so we have no way out. Now." She regained her feet with remarkable dignity. "I'm going inside to get warm and dry off. Perhaps you could help me with that, Uranus?"

"Gladly."

"Unbelievable," Mars said, as the pair limped off towards the shrine.

"Well you did tell them to get a room," Jupiter pointed out.

"Just make sure it's not  _my_  room!" Mars yelled after them. If they heard, they ignored her.

"Right," said Venus. "Back to sentry duty."

* * *

Under the hot spray of the shower, Haruka brushed her fingertips over the red gauges marring Michiru's hip.

"I'm sorry," she whispered. "I should have been faster."

"I was out of reach. Being faster wouldn't have helped."

A look turned into a kiss; a brief tangle of bodies, each clinging to the other's warmth and breathing with fast-moving chests pressed close together.

When they came out, Artemis pointed them to a guest room and Haruka dressed Michiru's wounds with the first-aid kit that had thoughtfully been supplied. Then they crawled into bed in little more than their underwear and, for a time, set their duty aside.

About half an hour later, Usagi approached the guest room cautiously. Whoever had closed the door had done so carelessly, leaving it far enough ajar that she could peek inside and see Haruka and Michiru fast asleep, ensconced in each other's arms. She smiled and slid the door closed, and went back to sit by Mamoru's side.


	12. Chapter 12

The shield protecting the shrine was still holding strong as the golden light of late afternoon blazed out over the deserted city.

Gathered with most of the other soldiers, Haruka listened with half an ear to Ami's theory explaining their current predicament. She was suggesting that somehow they had all been pulled into another dimension, that the planes of the magical and the mundane had become separated, leaving the Sailor Soldiers trapped in a warped reality where the magical rules they were used to didn't hold.

She was onto her fourth graph when Rei finally cut in impatiently, "yes, but what can we do to fix this? That shield isn't going to hold forever. We have what? Another day? Two?"

"Two at most," Ami confirmed reluctantly. "I've already increased the shield's power as much as I can."

In an ominous voice, Minako put in, "What I want to know, is how did this happen in the first place? Haruka?"

"Why do you think I know?" said Haruka, shrugging uncooperatively.

"Because I talked to Seiya. Right before everything went wonky, Taiki made some sort of connection with Pluto in one of Michiru's paintings and disappeared."

"That's as much as I know too. But if something is happening with Pluto, then Michiru and I will deal with it."

Two bright spots of anger appeared on Minako's cheeks. "You're going to start with that Outers crap now, Haruka? We're in a situation here! We need everyone working together. _Cooperating_. I know you like to pretend that word isn't in your vocabulary, but—"

As Minako's diatribe continued, Haruka tried not to look like she wanted to let her eyes fall shut. This meeting hadn't been worth getting out of bed for. She just wanted to go back and join Michiru, who she'd left asleep in their temporary room.

Minako could scold and storm as much as she liked, but they both knew it didn't change anything. If something had really gone wrong at the Doors of Time, the Inner soldiers weren't the ones who'd ever get close enough to Pluto to help her fix it.

Just as a million speeches about cooperation wouldn't change the fact that the Outer Soldiers were always the ones who'd be deployed first, who'd leave last, and that they'd do it regardless of what orders anyone gave them because it was the purpose that was woven right through their being, blood and bone.

"Minako," said Usagi quietly, halting Minako in the middle of an insult about over-sexed ice queens, "if Setsuna is in trouble, she won't accept help from just anyone. Myself and Haruka and Michiru are the ones who have the best chance of getting close to her. Hotaru and Chibiusa if they were here…"

"We have no way of reaching them, Princess," Haruka reminded her.

Usagi clenched her hands in her lap. "I know. And this could be affecting the future as well. Rei, Ami – We need to find out where Setsuna is, and how to get to her. You two probably have the best chance of figuring that out with your abilities."

"Are my abilities to be of no help, then?"

Michiru's voice was playful, musical, and she moved into the room so gracefully no one ever would have guessed she was still hiding claw marks beneath her skirt.

"Michiru!" Usagi gave her an apprehensive glance. "Haruka said you were hurt. You shouldn't be exerting yourself."

"I'm not hurt badly. And of everyone here, I'm the one with the best chance of reaching Setsuna."

There was a wary look in Usagi's eyes as she continued to gaze at Michiru, and Haruka could tell she was wondering if it had been through accident rather than intent that the two of them had kept their promise and made it to the shrine.

Likewise guessing their Princess's thoughts, Michiru said coaxingly, "didn't Haruka and I keep our promise? Didn't we make it here safely? We're fine, Usagi. I can do this."

Usagi finally nodded after a long pause, though Haruka got the feeling she wasn't entirely taken in by Michiru's reassurances. "You should talk to Seiya again about what she saw. In case she's remembered any helpful details. Where is she?"

"Keeping watch," said Haruka, getting to her feet. "Michiru and I will go talk to her now."

Before they could leave, Ami spoke. "But there's something I don't understand. Why would Setsuna let _Taiki_ through the painting? Assuming it was intentional. Or if it wasn't, why would Taiki step through? Were she and Setsuna close?"

The question was mostly directed at Haruka and Michiru, but neither of them answered.

"Maybe we'll find out, when we get them back," said Usagi, while Minako and Rei exchanged a glance that seemed to suggest they guessed the truth.

Well, Haruka had warned Setsuna it would be difficult to keep the relationship secret.

"Haruka?" With a tilt of her head, Michiru indicated her desire to leave.

Strolling out after her, Haruka threw back over her shoulder, "we'll tell you if Seiya has any useful information. As unlikely as that scenario is."

Seiya was sitting perched at the top of the stairs, just within the shield's protection. Michiru's ocean was still surging around the hill, but the waters were slowly starting to subside. Within another day or two they'd probably be gone.

"How was the meeting?" Seiya asked, apparently not surprised to have suddenly acquired an Outer Solider sitting on either side of her.

"Boring," said Haruka. "We have at most two days before our position is overrun. Michiru and Rei and Ami are going to try and find a way to reach Setsuna. That's probably our only hope."

"So you've come to ask me about what I saw when Taiki stepped into Michiru's painting."

Seiya's glance switched quickly between Michiru and Haruka, lingering on Haruka last, and longest. Haruka kept her eyes on the sea of molten gold, frowning slightly. "How is Yaten doing?"

"Better. She's asleep right now. Luna is keeping an eye on her."

Her voice nearly merging with the ocean, Michiru said, "it's hard when you're a long way from home, and your teammates are endangered. It gets very lonely."

A little of the tension Seiya was holding leaked out of her, and for an unguarded moment her eyes became two deep pools of worry before she smoothed her expression over. "Do you think something has gone wrong at the Doors of Time? Is that what's causing all this?"

"We can't think of any other explanation," said Haruka.

"Michiru – Was that painting of Pluto enchanted? Was that why Taiki could step into it?"

"It wasn't enchanted, Seiya. Not as far as I know. I painted that picture a long time ago…Before I met Setsuna. Not long after I met Haruka."

Michiru gave Haruka a brief, curving smile across the space between them.

"I couldn't even remember Sailor Pluto properly. I just had this image in my head of a sad lonely soldier always standing in the mist, watching with a heart full of love she could never express…"

Haruka added, "that was Pluto's life for a very long time. Ours too, I suppose. Back then."

"So what happened?" said Seiya. "What made the painting come to life like that?"

"Maybe Setsuna was doing something from her side – trying to find a way through to us," Michiru offered. "But perhaps that didn't work, and for some reason, what she did opened up a way for Taiki to get to her instead."

Seiya snorted. "I'm surprised Setsuna would care enough to _want_ Taiki wherever she is."

Haruka saw Michiru give Seiya an unusually gentle look. "Setsuna loved Taiki, Seiya."

"Haruka said that too. But she really didn't act like it."

"We don't have time to fight about that now," said Haruka shortly. "We need to know if you saw anything that can help us."

"All that happened," said Seiya, "was that the painting shimmered. Sailor Pluto started to move – like the painting had become a mirror to wherever she was – and when Taiki placed her fingertips against the canvas, they glowed pink and she stepped right through. I tried to follow, but the painting wouldn't let me. And then Yaten turned up to say that all the people were starting to disappear, and we had to get out of the museum."

"It sounds like Taiki was using her powers," said Michiru thoughtfully. "I wonder if that was intentional?"

Running a restless hand through her hair, Seiya expelled a breath. "Years ago – after the end of Taiki's previous relationship – her powers were messed up for quite a while. She couldn't get the energy to flow right. She hasn't said anything, but I'm pretty sure she's suffering the same thing this time around. That's probably why she kept running off. When a creator can't create…It's like the end of the world."

What Seiya said about Taiki echoed almost exactly what Michiru had told Haruka after seeing Taiki on the moon the night before (Was it really only the night before? It seemed an age ago. This had been one hellishly long day). Seiya really was perceptive about her friends. Grudgingly, Haruka had to admit it probably did make her a good leader.

"So what would have made her able to use her powers again?" she asked.

"Maybe Taiki and Setsuna did meet," said Michiru. "In another reality, or another timeline. Maybe that connection was enough to draw Taiki in."

"Is that even possible?" said Seiya.

"Oh, it's possible," Haruka assured her. "I'm just not sure it helps us."

Shaking her head, Michiru disagreed, "but it does help, Haruka. If creative power is the key, I can use that on the painting too. I created it, after all." She hastily got to her feet. "I should go and talk to Rei and Ami about this. They might have some input…"

"Wait!" said Seiya. "Just who is going on this little expedition to find Setsuna?"

"Only Haruka and Usagi and I," Michiru answered.

"I want to go too. Taiki is on my team. I have a right to be there."

"Just you?" said Haruka. "Not Yaten?"

"It will be several days before Yaten fully recovers."

"We don't have several days."

"I know. That's why I'm saying…"

"I'll ask the Princess," Michiru said. "She should be the one to make the final decision. Haruka, I'll see you when you come in. Seiya…" She hesitated. "Thank you for today. What you and Yaten did—"

Seiya airily waved her thanks away. "Don't worry about it. If you and Haruka had died, I'd have no one to fight with, would I? That would make things very dull."

"You seem to enjoy fighting with Yaten well enough," was the last, perceptive observation Michiru made, her eyes sly, before she went back up to the shrine.

Perhaps intentionally, perhaps not, Michiru left behind an awkward silence that Haruka didn't try to fill. An orange sunset was blazing across the sky; the air was sweet and crisp and clear. The silence of the city below them was at once eerie and peaceful, and Haruka reflected that of all the situations she'd never imagined she'd find herself in, watching a sunset with Seiya definitely had to be up there.

"So is Michiru okay?" Seiya asked, putting her arms out behind her and leaning back. "The monsters didn't tear her up too badly?"

"She's okay," said Haruka, keeping her voice neutral and non-combative for once.

"What she did with the ocean today was pretty amazing."

"Of course. Michiru is amazing. What about you, having a healer on your team? You kept that quiet."

"Well – not really. She's _called_ Healer. Kind of obvious when you think about it."

"You know—" Haruka paused. "I meant what I said back there, Seiya. I owe you and Yaten a favour. So if there's ever anything I can do…You can call on me."

She felt Seiya give her a pointed glance. "Then let me go with you to rescue Setsuna and Taiki."

Haruka's lips curled into a slightly scornful smile. "Michiru said she'd ask Usagi because we all know Usagi is going to say yes. That was her way of thanking you. Don't ask me for something you already have. Save it for something worthwhile."

"Well, as much as I appreciate the offer, Yaten's really the one who saved your life, so I'll let you settle negotiations with her when she wakes up. Though I warn you now, it's no fun being indebted to her. She's completely ruthless."

"Noted," said Haruka, with some amusement, "but I wasn't talking about my life. I was talking about Michiru's. She would have died back there trying to save my mortally wounded butt if you two hadn't shown up."

Seiya smiled briefly, but her expression soon grew serious. "You know, you were pretty out of it so you might not remember, but Yaten didn't want to heal you."

"That's understandable, considering how much it took out of her. None of us are exactly on the best of terms."

"It wasn't because of that. It's because she thought that you and Michiru would abandon us if we slowed you down too much. That you'd just leave us to the monsters. She was afraid I'd die trying to protect her the way Michiru would have died protecting you."

" _Did_ we leave you behind?"

Her eyes far away as she stared out over the ocean, Seiya said, "I told her she was wrong."

"What makes you so sure?"

"You were kind to Taiki when she was hurting. You had nothing to gain from that. It would have been easy for you to overlook her feelings, but you didn't. Someone who cares enough to do that, doesn't leave people behind to die."

"I've grown to like Taiki. I hope we get her back. I hope we get both of them back."

"Yeah, me too. Listen…" Seiya turned her head to look at Haruka. "Would you mind not saying anything to the others about Yaten's abilities? It's not that we _hide_ her powers exactly – it is right there in her name – but…Healing does take a lot out of her. We don't like her to use it unless there's no other choice."

"I won't say anything," said Haruka. "I haven't even told the others I got hurt. It's not something they need to know."

Twilight was beginning to steal over the city below, the buildings slowly merging into shadows hiding the darker shades of monsters resurrected from the dead. By all rights, Haruka thought, her body should be down there amongst them, and maybe Michiru's too.

"Can I ask you something?" she said.

"What?" asked Seiya.

"Why did you and Yaten bother to come help us at all? What possessed you?"

"We did it for Taiki of course." Seiya's glance seemed to dare Haruka to disagree with her. "It would have hurt Setsuna if anything happened to you and Michiru, and that would have hurt Taiki too. Not to mention, Michiru is probably the only one who has any chance of opening that painting again, and that's our only way of getting Taiki back."

Playing into the deception, Haruka agreed with a smile. "Right, of course," she said.

* * *

The first stars could be seen in the sky as Makoto came out onto the veranda. Spotting Haruka and Seiya sitting on the edge of the hill, she was about to go and speak to them, and then nearly shrieked as Minako's hand shot out from behind a post and dragged her into the shadows.

"Makoto, what are you doing?" Minako whispered aggressively.  
  
"What am _I_ doing? What are _you_ doing, hiding behind a post and capturing innocent bystanders?"

"Shh! You'll disturb them."  
  
"Who? Haruka and Seiya?" Makoto glanced at the two silent figures. "What are they doing? I was going to go tell them that dinner's ready."

"Leave them alone. They're having a warrior bonding moment."

Makoto looked again, eyes confused. "They're just sitting there."

"That's what warrior bonding looks like," said Minkao authoritatively. "They'll come in when they're ready." She began tugging Makoto back inside the shrine. "Now, what's for dinner? I'm starving!"

* * *

Ami didn't stay long in the session with Rei and Michiru. Without being able to test the painting, she said, she couldn't be sure of anything. But going on what Michiru had relayed from Seiya, she theorised that Taiki and Setsuna may have somehow created an energy connection that was able to cross the divide between the two realities, allowing movement between them.

There was probably something to her ideas, Michiru thought. Threads pulling across time, across worlds, across all the broken spaces that lay in between. Setsuna herself really should have understood the power of what she was weaving when she started all this.

"And could Michiru create a similar connection?" Rei wanted to know. "One that would allow her and the others to reach Setsuna too?"

"Perhaps," said Ami. "Michiru and Setsuna would have a strong connection. If Michiru could find a way to use the painting to follow Setsuna's essence…"

"It would help if I had some idea of where to go," Michiru admitted. "In all my years, I've never even been to the Doors. I don't know how to get there. Assuming that's where she is."

Ami frowned. "We've only been there using a Time Key. I don't know of any other way, except the entrance in Neo-Queen Serenity's palace in Crystal Tokyo."

"Which we can't access without first travelling to the thirtieth century," Rei said.

"Exactly." Ami sighed and rose. "I really think that's about all the help I can give. And Makoto probably needs a hand with dinner…"

Rei nodded and waved her away. Michiru could tell she was impatient to try and see if the fire could tell her anything, and even though her wounds were starting to ache, Michiru knew she had to try and see into her Mirror too.

Neither of them had much luck. Michiru's Mirror remained blocked; she gave up before Rei did and watched her as she sat with her eyes closed before the fire, perspiration dripping down her brow. With a frustrated sigh, she finally opened her eyes and lowered her hands. "I'm still not getting anything. You?"

Michiru shook her head. "I can't even feel the monsters I _know_ are swarming around the bottom of this hill, let alone Setsuna."

"This is ridiculous! How are we supposed to do anything when we're completely blind? And what _has_ happened to Pluto? Could something be trapping her at the Doors? The same thing that's hurting us?"

"Not even death is strong enough to hold Sailor Pluto forever. I fear the only thing that could trap her…Is herself."

"And that means what?" said Rei, sounding a little irritated by the obliqueness of Michiru's answer. 

It wasn't possible for Michiru to explain further. Not because she didn't have the ability to make her meaning clearer, but because there were just things – so many things – Pluto would never want the others to know about her.

"It doesn't matter, Rei. We have enough clues. I doubt there's any way for me to figure exactly what I need to do until I reach the painting."

"That's taking a big chance, Michiru. You won't have much time when you get there."

"I know. But there's no point wasting all the energy I'm going to need for tomorrow."

"Are you doing okay?" said Rei, worry shading her eyes.

"Yes. Believe me." Michiru laughed a little unsteadily. "Haruka and I got off lightly today. We all did."

There was a strange expression on Rei's face as she looked into the fire. "Sometimes I wish it wasn't like this," she admitted. "You and Haruka and Setsuna and Hotaru always putting yourselves on the line for us."

"But you know there'll never be another solution, Rei. I mean, if Haruka and I hadn't been there today, chances are Usagi, Makoto and Minako wouldn't all have made it back alive. At least one of them would have died. Most likely—"

"Mina," said Rei, her voice cracking a little. "I know that, Michiru. God damn it, I know."

Michiru said gently, "all of you do the same for Usagi. You'd die for her. You _have_ died for her, many times over."

"And yet; it never gets any easier. Makoto couldn't even talk when she reached the shrine. Minako hated herself for leaving you and Haruka behind. Usagi just had this quiet, worried look on her face…"

The fire danced in front of them. There were no lights out there in the dark, in the silent city bereft of people. Just this shrine, this little pinpoint of hope, shining bravely on the hill. A few soldiers gathered together who'd all started out strangers to this world. Meeting Rei's eyes with a sad smile, Michiru said, "that's the difficult part, I suppose. We fight because we care. Because we care, it hurts. If it ever stopped hurting…We'd probably have lost everything worth fighting for."

Rei's eyes shone dangerously. "Make sure you bring Setsuna back, okay? We need her here. We've always needed her. When the team's not complete…It doesn't work."

"Oh I know," said Michiru. "I know. 

* * *

The empty dinner dishes had barely been cleared away before discussions of strategy began again. Between Hikawa Shrine and the Museum of Contemporary Art there was a lot of ground to cover, all of it no doubt filled with hordes of demons eager for senshi flesh.

After bombarding Seiya with questions about the shield she was able to power up around her body and jotting down several pages of inscrutable equations, Ami claimed that if all of the senshi leant some of their power to Sailor Moon's Moon Power Tiare, she'd be able to modify it to create a similar shield large enough to protect the whole party. To prove it, she did a brief experiment just using the powers of the Inner Senshi, and the resulting shield around the Tiare was so powerful that not even Haruka and Seiya could break it together.

"It's difficult to say how long it will last," Ami admitted, "especially with the number of monsters that are bound to be out there, but hopefully it will be long enough."

Usagi brushed a hand over Ami's shoulder. "Thanks, Ami. I'm sure it will work. Haruka, Michiru, Seiya and I will set out…" she grimaced a little, "at dawn tomorrow. We'll prepare the Tiare just before we go."

Minako slapped her hands down on the table. "In that case, everyone should get to bed. Usagi, you're with Mamoru. Haruka and Michiru…Well, that's obvious. Seiya…?"

"I'll share with Yaten," Seiya replied smoothly, keeping her expression unreadable despite the probing look Minako gave her.

Getting nothing from her, Minako gave up and flicked her eyes away. "Right. The rest of us – one stationed on each side of the veranda. We'll take turns sleeping. Those going on the Mission tomorrow; just concentrate on getting some rest. 

* * *

Gathering up an assortment of blankets and warm clothes and throwing them into Minako's arms, Rei grumbled in a low whisper, "you're such a soft touch, Minako. Letting all the couples get the beds while _we_ have to watch all night in the cold."

"Usagi would just fall asleep anyway. She's completely unreliable. Michiru is still injured; not severely, but she still shouldn't be taking on extra duties when she's going to need all her energy for tomorrow, and if anyone makes Haruka sleep apart from Michiru she's going to be sobbing into her pillow all night and cursing her destiny. Do you want to listen to that? Because I certainly don't."

She didn't remind Rei of the bloody hole in Haruka's uniform that looked suspiciously like it had been accompanied at some stage by a pretty severe wound.

"And Seiya and Yaten?"

Minako paused thoughtfully, privately wondering if there was some connection between Yaten's mysterious lethargy and Haruka's rude good health in spite of her blood soaked uniform. Not to mention the strange sight she'd witnessed before dinner of Haruka and Seiya actually getting along.

"They're a long way from home, Rei, and if things go badly, they might never see each other again after tomorrow."

"Then you think—"  
  
"I was right about Setsuna and Taiki, wasn't I?"

"We don't have confirmation of that!"

"There's no other reason Taiki would have leapt into that painting after her. There's no other reason Setsuna would have let her in."

Rei threw another blanket onto the tottering pile that by now nearly reached up to Minako's nose. "Rei! This isn't the arctic. I think we probably have enough supplies for the night."

"Yes. I suppose so." Slumping tiredly, Rei said, "I couldn't do what Pluto did. I couldn't leave everyone like that. It's not even necessary! All of us protect the future every single day. Does she think she's the only one who can do it?"

"Pluto remembers more than the rest of us. She's older. She still lives by the code of the old world."

Rei's words were bitter. "The code of the old world was what killed our Princess. Forbidden love…"

"I know." Minako shivered. "It's getting cold. Let's go find the others, and get set up for the night."

* * *

Since Luna had already spent most of the day with Yaten, she automatically assumed she'd be spending the night with her too. Luna got the sense that her being there had helped Yaten in some indefinable way, that she'd been able to replenish her reserves a little faster because of Luna's presence, even though Luna had done nothing more than curl up beside her.

Luna's paw was strong enough to push back the sliding door to allow her to enter the room Yaten had taken over, but she froze with a blush threatening to erupt on her cheeks as she saw that Seiya was already there, getting into bed with Yaten like it was the most normal thing in the world.

Disconcertingly, both of them were now looking at her, Seiya still propped on her elbow with her other hand holding the covers raised as she slid between the sheets.

"Um," said Luna, already beginning to back out of the room, "I'm sorry. I didn't realise…"

Yaten flopped down onto her pillow. "Don't be silly, Luna. You can stay with us if you want to. It's not a problem."

"Are you sure?"

"It was good having you here this afternoon." It sounded like Yaten struggled a little to admit what she said next. "I think it helped. I'm not feeling as tired as I was."

Luna gave Seiya a quick look to see what she thought, but it didn't seem like she had any objections. And if Luna could help, she did want to stay. Shrugging her shoulders, she pushed the door shut behind her and padded over to the bed.

Seiya slid the rest of the way down under the covers.

"You can turn off the light, Luna," Yaten said.

Meowing her consent, Luna switched off the bedside lamp that was the only light still on in the room, and then jumped onto the bed to curl up comfortably against Yaten's ribs.

Yaten gave her a few gentle strokes and some scrtiches under the chin that soon had Luna purring. Her hand fell away after a little while though, and Luna assumed she'd gone to sleep.

She half opened one eye as she heard the coverlet rustle. Seiya had half put her arm around Yaten's waist, but before she could finish, Yaten shook her off, hissing, "Seiya, stop that! How embarrassing."

Obligingly, Seiya withdrew her arm and settled onto her own pillow, not seeming upset by Yaten's rebuff.

Quiet breathing filled the room.

"Be careful tomorrow, okay?" Yaten said, hunching onto her side a little more. "And make sure you bring Taiki back."

"I will," Seiya replied. 

Perhaps another half hour passed. Luna had nearly fallen asleep when the blankets rustled a second time. She curiously blinked her eyes open, and saw that Seiya had put her arm around Yaten again. After a few seconds, Yaten clasped her hand.

* * *

"This arrangement," Haruka grumbled, "is not as comfortable as our bed."

"Oh? Would it be better if I held you?"

Haruka let out a huff of near silent laughter. "You need to ask?"

She heard Michiru reply with a low chuckle.

Soon enough, there was the sinuous sound of Michiru's body sliding across the empty space in the middle of the bed, and Haruka gladly rearranged her arms into a more accommodating position as she felt Michiru's head settle on her shoulder, one of her arms stretching over Haruka's chest.

"Are your injuries okay?" Haruka asked her softly.

"They're healing. They shouldn't be much of an issue by tomorrow. What about you? Are you all right? No lingering…effects?"

"A little tiredness. Which is nothing at all, considering."

Michiru snuggled closer, her breath tickling Haruka's collarbone. "Take more care next time," she whispered.

Haruka twined her arms around Michiru, breathing in the scent of Rei's guest shampoo and the hint of a salt wind that always seemed on the verge of stirring her lover's wild mass of curls.

"I'll do my best," she promised.


	13. Chapter 13

On the other side of the painting, Taiki found herself transformed into Sailor Star Maker, standing in a world filled with nothing but mist. For some reason, it was familiar, but initially she couldn't place why. Then she remembered the morning when Sailor Moon had taken her to the Outer Residence. The morning Setsuna had decided to leave the Earth.

All around the house there'd been mist like this, creeping up to take Setsuna away. Star Maker filled her lungs and tried to call but the mist swallowed her words; she began to walk but she couldn't even say for sure she was moving.

Had Setsuna intended to pull her in? Was she in trouble? When she touched the painting, Star Maker's hands had glowed with power, and she was sure she'd felt Setsuna; felt her isolation, her fear, her determination to fight on in spite of that.

Star Maker's powers hadn't worked for her properly since the day Setsuna left, and she wondered what had suddenly made her able to connect to that part of herself again. Something about being here in this place? The feel of Setsuna's presence?

"Setsuna!" she tried again, "please help me find you! I'm lost!"

 _Lost, lost, lost_ , came the echo back, almost like the mists were mocking her.

Suddenly she heard footsteps running towards her, and quickly drew her Star Yell. Whoever or whatever was approaching, she knew it wasn't Setsuna.

A pink haired girl burst out of the mists who looked remarkably like a slightly younger version of the Sailor Moon Star Maker knew, wearing a white and pink Sailor outfit.

"You must be Sailor Star Maker," she said, apparently unfazed to find Maker's Star Yell pointed squarely at her chest.

"Um, yes. I am. Are you…Chibiusa?"

The girl nodded. "That's right." Filling her lungs, she gave a loud and unladylike bellow. "Saturn!"

Another set of swift footsteps approached through the mist. Star Maker easily recognised Saturn when she emerged, though she looked older now, perhaps eighteen or nineteen. About the same age as the pink-haired Usagi. She lowered the Star Yell, knowing Saturn could only be here with the intent to help Sailor Pluto.

"Serenity!" said Saturn. "You found her!"

"Serenity?" Star Maker wrinkled her brow in confusion, not sure for a moment to whom Saturn was referring.

"She means me," Chibiusa supplied. "My full name is Princess Usagi Small Lady Serenity."

"Yeah," Saturn nodded. "Calling her Chibiusa or Small Lady in bed was just really awkward, and Usagi was almost as bad. So we decided on Serenity."

"Okay, too much information," said Star Maker quickly. "Also, um, do your parents know about this?"

"Mine?" said Saturn. "Haruka and Michiru and Setsuna?" She laughed. "At this point, I think I'm practically keeping up family tradition."

"I think mine figured it out when I turned down Helios's offer of marriage and they found me…kind of undressed with Saturn in my bedroom half an hour later."

Star Maker grimaced. "Really too much information – and who is Helios?"

"A prince I met when I was a little girl. It was just a phase I grew out of."

"Well look, I'm glad not to be wandering around in these swirling mists by myself anymore, but…Do you two actually know what's going on here? What's happened to Setsuna? Is she the cause of all this?"

Serenity and Saturn exchanged a glance.

"We're not actually sure what's going on," said Saturn. "Serenity sensed a massive disturbance and we were able to slip through the Doors just before everything went…Crazy. When we landed, we caught a glimpse of Pluto, but she didn't see us. She was too intent on the Doors. It looked like she was trying to get somewhere but they wouldn't obey…"

Serenity added, "We tried to reach her, but the mists caught us up and tossed us around so we ended up way out here. Wherever here is. Just before we got thrown away, though, we saw Pluto make a tiny gap in the barrier of the Doors. She was so focused on getting out, she didn't realise it allowed someone to get in. But we saw, and we figured it was you."

"Why?"

"Because." Saturn became solemn. "Uranus and Neptune – the thirtieth century ones – they told me about what happened between Pluto and you. They didn't at first, but…I said something a little while ago that upset Pluto, and I didn't understand why, until they explained. And maybe, from your perspective, those events weren't very long ago?"

Star Maker looked away, an unpleasant pain in her heart. "It wasn't very long ago, for me," she said shortly. "But it's been a very long time for Pluto. I doubt I matter to her now, if I ever did."

"You're wrong," said Serenity. "If you didn't matter, you never would have been able to get through."

What had happened with Setsuna was still too raw for Star Maker to want to be talking about with anyone, least of all these two girls she didn't know. "Just tell me how I can find her," she whispered unsteadily. "I'll do whatever I can…"

Approaching Star Maker, Saturn took her hand. She smiled a little, and there was knowledge in her eyes far beyond her years. "Why don't you see if you can find her, Taiki? This is your power, isn't it? The power of possibility. It's brought you this far…"

"You can't be expecting me to believe I have a better chance of finding her than you. Saturn, you're her daughter. Serenity—"

"I'm one of Puu's oldest friends," Serenity agreed. "We very likely could find her. But—"

"We want to see if _you_ can," said Saturn.

"What is this, some kind of test to prove my worthiness?" Star Maker asked.

Saturn shrugged. "If you like. The thing about Setsuna-mama is that…Sometimes she builds her own cage and buries herself so deep inside almost no one can find her. But she has her reasons. She remembers things, she's experienced things, that the rest of us never will. She wants to protect all of us. She's afraid that if she looks away, even for a moment, the world will fall again just like before."

"But if Pluto was here, guarding the Doors…What caused the disturbance Serenity felt?"

"We don't know," said Serenity. "But Star Maker – Look at your hands. They're glowing. Don't you want to know what they're pointing you towards?"

Star Maker considered her hands, holding them before her as the pulsing grew stronger. For too long she'd kept her hands empty, fearing this exact scenario, fearing to find something only to lose it, fearing her powers would go too when that happened.

But her powers had rekindled when she touched the painting, when she'd felt Setsuna's presence, however briefly. That meant there had to be some link still between them. Unfinished business still to be resolved.

There was, perhaps, possibility, but no more than that. It was hard for Star Maker to accept that Pluto had chosen this strange place of nothingness over her, but she did understand her desire to protect those she loved. She also understood this wasn't a rescue mission and that it probably wouldn't end in Pluto choosing her. At most, it might be a chance for Star Maker to say goodbye, to see Pluto's world and better make sense of the choices she'd made.

To take back everything she'd learnt, even the pain, and transform it into something beautiful for the world. That was her own destiny, as a Maker.

"All right," she said, looking at her two young companions. "Let's find Setsuna, and help her fix whatever's gone wrong."

Saturn and Serenity nodded their approval, and stood back to let Star Maker go first through the mists.

* * *

The shield on the Tiare lasted long enough for Neptune, Uranus, Moon and Fighter to reach the painting of Pluto in the museum. As it gave out, Uranus and Fighter moved to meet the monsters, pushing Moon back behind them.

Neptune meanwhile stood in front of the painting, running her fingers over its textured surface with a frown.

Glancing at what she was doing, Fighter implored, "Neptune, can't you hurry? Uranus and I can't hold these monsters back forever."

"Be quiet, Fighter, I'm concentrating," was the only murmured answer she got.

Uranus's eyebrows clearly suggested she thought Fighter an idiot for assuming Neptune wasn't already figuring this out as quickly as she could.

"Um," said Sailor Moon.

"Just stay back, Princess," Uranus grunted, shearing her Sword through half a dozen monsters. "Fighter and I can take care of this."

"But—"

Cutting her off, Fighter added, "Uranus is right, Sailor Moon. They're too much for you. Just wait—"

"Too much for me?" Feeling frustration flare in her as she looked at the stubborn backs of Uranus and Fighter, Sailor Moon repeated, her voice rising by several degrees, " _too much for me?_ "

A monster launched itself at Fighter, and Sailor Moon quickly held her Tiare aloft. She wasn't going to let anyone get hurt today. Yesterday, she'd trusted Uranus and Neptune when they told her they intended to follow. She'd wanted to believe they were finally starting to change their ways, but she'd seen how they looked when they finally reached the shrine. The shock and disbelief on their faces. They hadn't thought they were going to make it. Their minds and their hearts had been filled with death, with pain and sadness, and after all this time, Moon didn't understand how they didn't realise that when they felt those things, she felt them too.

Brighter and brighter the Tiare grew, sending out a great wave of light that filled the alcove, and the room beyond, and probably the whole museum and all the streets surrounding it. Monsters were beings of darkness. They thrived on despair, on cruelty and suffering. Gentleness, love, the desire to save her friends from harm – monsters couldn't understand that, and they had no defense against it.

They vanished into smoke in the strength of light, and absolute silence reigned when Moon finally lowered the Tiare.

She smiled at the dumbfounded expressions Uranus, Neptune and Fighter were giving her. " _When_ are all of you going to learn I don't _need_ to be protected all of the time? That _I_ can protect _you_ as well?"

"Princess," said Uranus, her voice husky. There was such a strange look in her eyes, the memory of her past life stirring when she'd only been a weapon, not worthy of being protected, not deserving of compassion. Still the surprise and wonder that her new princess didn't treat her the same.

As if any future like that was the kind Sailor Moon would ever build.

With a slight cough, Neptune broke the moment. "I've figured out where the gateway is in the painting that Star Maker went through. I think I can get it open again, but not for long."

Sailor Moon nodded. "Thank you, Neptune. Let's get through to the other side, and figure out what we need to do."

* * *

Pluto's exhaustion had pushed her to her knees. The Rod was still pressed to the shimmering reality on the other side of the Doors, trying to break through the barrier blocking her from Earth. The gap she'd made was holding, but it refused to grow any larger, and unless she could think of something to do it was soon going to collapse, along with any chance of rescuing her friends.

She sprung to her feet and whirled in a circle as a soft touch landed on her shoulder. Nothing should be here; nothing _could_ be with her at the Doors. That hadn't been the touch of an enemy; it was a touch filled with care and concern. The sort of touch Pluto had rarely felt in this place, not in all the lifetimes she'd been here.

Her Rod swung with her so that it was pointed at the person now in front of her, and she froze in surprise, not even daring to breathe, as she saw it was Taiki.

Pluto might have dreamed of Taiki, she might have spent longer than she'd ever admit following all the trails of their might-have-beens together, but never once had she seen Taiki here. Only in the world was it possible. Only when Pluto put on another form, another life, and hid from everyone what she really was.

"Setsuna-mama," a gentle voice said. Star Maker hadn't come alone. Saturn and Small Lady were with her, and disregarding the Rod, Saturn walked right past its deadly power to pull Pluto into a warm hug.

"You don't need to do that," she whispered. "We're not a threat. We came here to help. All of us."

"Saturn…Small Lady…"

With a tearful smile, Chibiusa joined the embrace, and through them, Pluto could feel the touch of the world, she could feel their life and their hope even though they'd left as their future crumbled.

Pluto had endured many endings here at the Doors; it had always been her burden to witness the passing and live on as the sole survivor, charged with remembering what no one else could.

Once she had let Sailor Moon and her friends through the Doors to destroy the twisted strands of Wiseman's plot, but even then she had done nothing besides watch and wait to see whether the world she loved would prevail.

That barrier had always been there between her and the world, and she had always been on the wrong side of it. But now, elements of Pluto's world were here with her in the void, and she couldn't even begin to guess at what that might mean.

Over the black and pink heads of her daughter and her future princess, she looked at Taiki again. She knew this Star Maker hadn't come from the reality where Kinmoku was saved. This wasn't the Star Maker Pluto had confessed her feelings to, whom she had kissed and held in her arms. The pain in this Star Maker's eyes was heartbreakingly fresh; her stance one of confusion and defence even though Pluto had already lowered the Rod.

"Taiki…" Letting go of Saturn and Small Lady, Pluto approached Star Maker, feeling that same tug in her core she'd felt in Babylon, overwhelmed by emotion at seeing her again, yet filled with guilt and caution as she wondered whether saving Taiki and her world had doomed the Earth. She touched her hand, wonderingly, because Taiki's hands were glowing, resonating with a power Pluto had never seen in her before. It was almost like the power Pluto had seen ignite when they'd met on Kinmoku. Maybe the effects of that other meeting had bled through into this reality; it was rare but Pluto had known things like that to happen before. Maybe, without knowing why, Taiki's heart would heal a little easier for it, even though here, now, Pluto couldn't risk repeating what she had then – The kiss, the declaration of love.

When she touched Taiki though she tried to impart something of the memory – the hope she'd seen in Taiki's eyes as the Crystal reengaged, the way they'd kissed in what brief time they had, high on the sacred mountain of the newly saved world.

"Setsuna." Star Maker's voice was shaking. "What…What was that?"

Pluto looked away, and didn't dare answer. She found an excuse to focus her attention on the Doors as she realised something was happening, and quickly swung her Rod up.

"Taiki, I'm sorry…There's something coming…" Turning towards the Doors, Pluto could feel that the barrier was shifting and changing, growing wider. She gasped. "Neptune and some of the others…They're breaking through!"

She touched her hand to the shimmering event horizon and wondered how she could have missed it. Star Maker had gotten here through Pluto's crack, using her own powers of making. The gap was resonating now with a power that belonged to Pluto and Maker both, time and possibility twining together to wend a tiny trail of magic through the barrier that the others could follow.

One after another, Neptune, Moon, Uranus and Fighter catapulted through the Doors, all of them expect Sailor Moon landing lightly on their feet.

"Pluto," said Neptune, her eyes warm, "it's good to see you. We thought you might need a hand. And it looks like we weren't the only ones with that idea."

Pluto smiled at her, at all of them. Had she been less self-contained, she might have cried. Every soldier here had crossed time and destiny just to reach her, and she could feel their emotions, banishing the frigid loneliness that had always reigned at the Doors.

She brushed shaking fingers over Neptune's shoulder. "Thank you," she whispered. Sweeping her gaze to take in all her assembled friends she repeated, "thank you, everyone."

Her voice gentle, Sailor Moon asked, "Setsuna, what's happened? There are monsters attacking the Earth and our magic isn't working properly."

"I know." Guilt stirring within her, Pluto admitted, "It's my fault." She looked at Maker and Fighter, her expression growing sombre. "Taiki, Seiya…I'm sorry to tell you this, but in the future when you find the Crystal, it's already broken. Kinmoku falls." Her voice wobbled, and she was acutely aware of everyone's eyes on her. "At least, that's what was supposed to happen. But I changed things. I found the Crystal in the past and I took it to Kinmoku when your world was about to be destroyed…"

Star Maker's eyes widened. "You did that? For us?"

"Yes," said Pluto, and looked away, her eyes settling on the Doors that had dominated so much of her existence. "Candles in the dark, to lead you to Babylon. I knew it was a change that would have consequences. I knew I'd be confined to the Doors again. I was prepared for that. But when I got back here, Earth was slipping out of alignment, splitting into two realities, and all of you fell into the crack…"

She let out a weary sigh. "A disturbance that severe should have been evident in the timestream before I did anything for Kinmoku, but it wasn't. All I saw was myself being exiled to the Doors. I don't know why I couldn't foresee what would happen…"

Sailor Moon immediately moved to reassure her. "Pluto, you didn't do anything wrong. You were saving an entire planet of people. No one should be punished for that."

Of course the princess would be forgiving. And Pluto wished she could believe her. Everything had seemed so clear when she'd entered ancient Babylon, when the feelings in her heart had led her to the conclusion that the only thing she could do was save Taiki's world.

To make it to the Doors, Taiki had crossed boundaries that should have been impassable; she'd influenced the Doors with her magic and the Doors had never before responded to any power but Pluto's own. If Pluto needed confirmation and the bond between them wasn't some fleeting desire confined to the flesh, this was truly it.

But it was also true that Pluto had spent so long in her own fantasies she'd completely neglected her duties and lost the crucial focus she'd always had before. She'd made a grave miscalculation and she wasn't sure that her emotions weren't to blame.

"I shouldn't have risked the Earth, Sailor Moon. That's what I was supposed to be doing at the Doors. Protecting everyone's future."

Sailor Moon's voice was sure. "We'll find a way to save the Earth."

"And what would that mean for Kinmoku?" Star Maker asked. "If restoring Kinmoku cost the Earth, then does the opposite hold true?"

Pluto answered, and she was saddened to see how quickly the shadows were growing in Star Maker's eyes again. "I don't know. All of our futures are in a great state of turmoil. But right now, we need to get back to Earth. The others will soon be in trouble at Hikawa Shrine."

"What?" Small Lady blinked at her in confusion. "But Puu – You said you were trapped here. And we saw you trying to break through that barrier…"

"Yes, and I did get through. At least enough that the rest of you were able to get through to me. Together, we changed things. Let's hope that together…"

All of them looked towards the Doors. Striding closer, Pluto placed the tip of her Rod against the shimmering barrier, feeling layers of magic old and new crackling between her and the world. The crack was growing wider and it couldn't be closed; whatever was coming, Pluto knew that her life after this would never be exactly the same again.

It was an exhilarating and terrifying thought.

"Pluto, we can't go back without a plan!" said Uranus, nearly having to yell over the howling winds that were rushing towards them, sweeping them inevitably back towards the world.

"It's okay," said Pluto as she felt the barrier shatter. "I think I know what to do."

* * *

Mercury closed her eyes in horror. "I'm sorry, Venus. This assault is too much for the forcefield to handle. It's going to go at any moment."

Venus set her jaw and nodded. She could see the fear in Mercury's eyes as she looked at the countless monsters swarming just below the hill. Just the four of them against a world overrun; the odds weren't good but in times like these it was Venus's job to make the others forget that.

She filled her lungs with air, reflecting that her voice training and acting lessons, for all she sometimes didn't want to admit it, probably had a far more significant use here on the cusp of battle than in trying to win the approval of perverted old men in suits at some Idol competition.

"Mercury! Mars! Jupiter! Listen up."

Positioning herself – not by accident – on a slight rise, Venus immediately drew the attention of her fellow fighters. She might never achieve the great fame her younger self had longed for – Sailor V's legacy would probably far outlast Aino Minako's, but sometimes, when she was being far more thoughtful than anyone would have ever guessed, Venus couldn't help but wonder whether her inclination towards dramatics hadn't been due to her love of Idols on the TV but some faint stirrings of her role in a past life as a military commander responsible for inspiring others to stay alive.

Venus knew her eyes were shining. Her hair was flowing in the wind; her voice was filled with passion, with a certainty she birthed into being not for herself but because she understood that a battle without hope was a fight already lost.

"When that barrier breaks," she bellowed, "all we have to do is one thing. Survive. Do not entertain defeat. Do not entertain despair. When the sun sets on this day, I expect every one of us to still be here. To still be standing, to still be fighting for our Princess."

Emotion welled in Venus as she thought of Usagi; her throat closed, her eyes filled and blurred the sight of the fangs and claws that would soon be upon them all. She could see her feelings reflected in Rei and Ami and Makoto. They would all do it, they would keep fighting and never give up because they knew Usagi would come and it was their job to make sure there was still a world here to save when she arrived.

Sometimes, when Venus thought back to her ill-remembered past, to the last battle that she recalled only as glimpses of pain and blood and screams, she wondered if that was what they'd done wrong back then. They'd been willing to die. They'd always been willing to die. But had they been just as prepared to live, to keep living even through darkness, through despair, through injury and pain and failure?

Perhaps now they were not as perfect as before, but Venus liked to think that was a strength, not a weakness. Their errors now resulted in growth, not in death. They could cry and stumble and fall and still believe the world worth saving.

The forcefield flickered warningly. Venus raised her hand. "Soldiers!" she cried… "Forward!"


	14. Chapter 14

When they landed at the Shrine, all was in chaos. Venus was down. That was the first thing Pluto noticed. Uranus and Neptune went to her at once, while Maker went to back up Mercury, Saturn to Jupiter, Fighter to Mars.

The world was overwhelming after so long away. The colours, the smells, the noise. The violence. Sometimes it was so very hard to live in the world. But Pluto knew, she could feel, that she'd been right to come back.

No one else could fix this.

She placed her hand on Sailor Moon's shoulder. "Sailor Moon, Small Lady – Lend the others your strength. Help them to keep fighting. Remedying this…Imbalance; that is my task."

"No," said Sailor Moon, her eyes anxious. "Not by yourself. Protecting the world is _my_ responsibility…"

Pluto smiled reassuringly. "By helping the others, you will be."

She looked up at the sky. The vast beautiful sky. Pluto had almost forgotten the way it could lift her heart. Skies did not exist at the Doors to let the spirit soar. She looked further, higher. Right up into the atmosphere. The edges of the world were not resting where they should be. There was the other Earth, just slightly above them, spinning on oblivious as to what it had lost. That world and this one, they had to be reunited before the monsters down here succeeded in destroying all of them.

Letting out a steadying breath Pluto took flight, flew up and up until she reached the curve of the stratosphere and hooked the key of her Rod right onto the edge of the planet. The other reality was so close, just a few inches away. Pluto could touch it with her fingertips, but it cost every ounce of strength she had to fly with the weight of the world behind her.

In those few painful inches as she flew, Pluto saw so much, so many different realities and possibilities flashing by, things even the Doors had never shown her. She was seeing time from within the world instead of outside of it, feeling it flow and change around her, feeling herself change with it. In the ten years Pluto had spent living as Meioh Setsuna, there was a part of herself she'd always tried to hold back, watching as Sailor Pluto would watch from the Doors, reminding herself she didn't really belong.

But despite that, this life had changed her more than she'd realised. And while not the cause, Taiki was certainly a consequence of that. Pluto had tried to turn her back on those changes in herself, but it hadn't worked. All she'd done was build a cage that hurt herself and everyone around her.

The two Earths were back in sync now, occupying the same area of space, but their realities hadn't reconnected. Pluto felt a moment of panic as she looked down, so far down, to where her friends were struggling with the monsters. What else did she have to do?

Energy. Her body had the energy of a thousand years spent at the Doors of Time, and her Rod was the object that could channel it. Without hesitation she began. The pain began first like a prickling in her veins, but soon enough it was like there was a lightning storm in her blood, and if anyone had been close enough, they would have heard her screams as she trembled on the verge of sky and space, seen her growing pale as death as she poured her powers into the Earth.

Pluto knew she was turning back into stardust again. Her left foot was gone, along with two fingers on her right hand. The tips of her hair were glowing ominously and her skirt began to disappear as the magic of her uniform failed.

It was getting difficult to breathe. But it didn't matter. She felt the world click back into place and the monsters were sealed, sent through the Doors into oblivion. The people she loved would prevail, and one day surely they would find the way to Babylon, even if she wasn't there to see it.

Pluto floated, half of her still senshi and half of her melted into stars, becoming a celestial body drifting further and further into space, losing her mind.

With what little consciousness she had left, she wondered where she'd gone wrong. Why hadn't she seen that saving Kinmoku would cause this shift in Earth's reality? Why? How could she have failed in the very duty for which she'd left the Earth?

Her perceptions were fading, but as she felt her body disappear, as her mind drifted further and further away, Pluto realised that if she followed that tenuous thread, if she let everything go, she could see further than she ever had before, a million dazzling lives spinning past her. Just as Neptune had said, Pluto had set herself upon a new path, one that she'd chosen for herself. And then she'd doubted and turned away, going back to the ways of a dead world.

And that dead world had listened to her. Pluto was older than the others, closer to what all of them had been long ago in that hazy time of myth when the senshi of this solar system first came to be.

When all they were was duty, fealty, service. When, as harsh as it was, there had been a kind of logic to it, for the battles that were fought back then at the birth of the universe were brutal and ugly and steeped in chaos, and any senshi who forgot her place for even a moment was in danger of falling into the dark.

The faintest memory, rekindled into life; the conflict bringing chaos, and Chaos taking its chance. Pluto had been bound at the Doors by the ancient senshi chains awakened by her own guilt, and Chaos had moved on the Earth, seeking to destroy its guardian warriors. Even as she was dying, Pluto laughed. It was a weak plan that had never had a hope of succeeding. Not against her. She, who wielded the powers of time and perception. Who had spent a thousand years steeped in the magic of the Doors, who would do anything to ensure the lives of her friends.

Earth and Kinmoku, they would both survive; Pluto could see their shining futures stretching off into infinity. Babylon would come again, the ancient city rising from the sands of the desert and flowering anew. The others would find their way. They'd build the future she'd always seen but never belonged to.

"You've failed," she whispered to the forces of Chaos ever seeking to destroy. "You'll always fail. We will never stop protecting this world…"

The Garnet Rod fell from Pluto's disintegrating hand, and she closed her eyes with a soft exhalation of breath. Time would have no guardian anymore.

* * *

At the Shrine, the senshi who moments before had been locked in battle with an overwhelming tide of monsters, found their opponents suddenly vanished. Jupiter lost her balance and toppled over. Mercury immediately got out her visor and computer and started making furious calculations. Mars and Fighter still kept Moon behind them, wary, but Mars' gaze strayed to where Uranus had taken the opportunity to kneel down by the stricken Venus, while Neptune kept watch nearby.

Mars saw Neptune's face crumple a moment before she felt the same certainty hit her, low in her gut where her most powerful intuitions always originated. Pluto was dead. Rather, she was dying; Mars could feel her fading away like blood flowing from a wound on her own body.

She saw Uranus raise her head, perhaps also beginning to sense Pluto's death, or maybe only sensing there was something wrong with her partner.

"Neptune?" said Uranus. "What is it? Is it—"

One by one, the others were starting to realise. Mars could see the pain hitting each of them in turn, as they felt that Pluto was no longer with them.

"It's Pluto," Neptune whispered, speaking more to Uranus than anyone else.

Maker looked towards the sky, the stark loss on her face making Mars' own heart ache harder. "She's gone."

Mars felt Fighter start and draw in a sharp breath beside her. She could feel her anxiety for Maker's wellbeing, and their reactions made Mars wonder whether Venus had been right in her suspicions of Maker and Pluto developing feelings for each other.

Each soldier stood, still, silent, ignoring the world Pluto had just spent her blood saving; frozen in shock and incomprehension.

Then Saturn's screams rent the air, desperate denials clawing out of her throat to be spilled fruitlessly at the feet of an unchanging fate. Chibiusa reached her first, followed shortly by Uranus and Neptune. Mars caught Jupiter's eye and wordlessly asked her to take her place by Usagi's side, while she herself went to Venus.

The wound was worse than Mars had realised, a nasty gash across Venus's chest that had already soaked most of the front of her uniform in blood.

"You're so careless," she griped tightly, smoothing Venus's sweat-soaked fringe out of her eyes.

Venus's eyes fluttered open, amusement lurking beneath the pain. "Glad to see you care, Mars," she said weakly.

Mars snorted and flushed. "Stop wasting your strength and be quiet." She shifted to make room as Mercury joined them and helped her bind the wound with the surgical kit she mysteriously produced from somewhere. If Mars pretended hard, she could almost convince herself that tending to Venus was making listening to Saturn's grief less terrible.

"Saturn," she heard Moon say, "It's okay. I'll get Pluto back. If I follow her up—"

Uranus responded immediately, expression set in that way that meant she was about to enforce something that was the very last thing she wanted, because she thought it was the right thing to do. "You can't, Usagi. It's too dangerous. We have no idea what that would do to you, or the world."

"No; I won't give up! I'm not losing anyone today. I swore I wasn't going to—"

"Princess," said Uranus, her voice lowering into that soft, intimate tone she never used with any of the others, "it was Pluto's choice. Don't take that away. Just let her…Let her rest."

"Sailor Moon," Mercury interjected, drawing the Princess's attention, "Venus needs your help. Now."

All of them watched the struggle on their Princess's face as she tried, and failed, to find a way to make sure everyone was saved. With a last look towards the sky, and tears streaming from her eyes, she acknowledged Mercury with a defeated nod and turned towards those she could still help.

And the world went on, oblivious that it had ever been lost.

* * *

Miserable March crept in redolent with rain. It had been three days since the battle. Other than Minako, none of them had sustained serious injuries, and Haruka's gut twisted a little in wry humour to think that had to be considered a good outcome.

The Inner Senshi, Usagi, Mamoru and the Starlights were still staying at the Shrine, but Haruka, Michiru, Hotaru and Chibiusa had elected to return to the Outer Residence. None of them knew how to handle the current situation. They would sit at the kitchen table pale as ghosts with untouched steaming mugs of tea, not meeting each other's eyes; sometimes someone would say something, some reminiscence of Setsuna, and Haruka had heard that was supposed to help, but in this case it only made things worse. Whoever spoke would have too much pain in their voice, and the memories hurt more than they comforted.

The night before, Haruka hadn't been able to sleep. She'd slipped out of bed and gone back to the caves, looking for something, anything to destroy, even though she knew very well there wasn't a shadow of darkness left.

Transformed into Uranus, she'd wandered deeper and deeper underground, the silent emptiness of each chamber she entered increasing her frustration until she let out a sob and slammed her fist into one of the cave walls, cracking it all the way to the ceiling.

That was when Neptune found her, as she was hunched with her fists pressed to the slimy wall, her forehead resting on her forearms, her chest heaving with her dry, retching sobs.

Two arms encircled her waist; Neptune's warmth was at her back. Her voice muffled by Haruka's skin, she said, "I'm a little offended you'd choose to spend the night in a dark, nasty cave, rather than with me."

Haruka gave an unsteady laugh. "I was looking for a fight."

"You didn't have enough of that at the Shrine?"

"I was looking for a fight I could win."

She felt Michiru's fingers slide comfortingly into her hair. "We don't know for sure Setsuna is dead, Haruka."

"Hotaru and Chibiusa went to the Doors and they couldn't find her. You can't see any glimpse of her in your Mirror. What else could have happened to her?"

Michiru's breath huffed onto the nape of Haruka's neck. "We don't even know how she sealed the monsters and brought the world back. We don't know anything."

"She must have known though, Michiru. That doing whatever she did would have a cost attached to it. And she hid it from all of us so no one else would pay it too."

"I know."

Haruka turned. "How can you be so calm?!"

Pain flashed across Michiru's face. "I hate this as much as you do, Haruka. But…Hotaru said when she and Chibiusa went to visit Pluto at the Doors, she looked, well, her exact words were, 'she looked like she'd been in pain for so long she'd stopped remembering there was any other way to be'. And, as much as I don't want to lose Setsuna – or Pluto – I'd prefer to think she chose an end where she could finally get some kind of peace. Maybe she wanted that, instead of being trapped in the same cycle again. As much as it hurts, I can't begrudge her that. It's better than before, when she left us for the Doors."

Closing her eyes, Haruka sighed, and felt very tired. She knew Michiru was right.

Opening her eyes again, she considered her partner in the faint luminescence their bodies seemed capable of producing in their senshi form. It was Michiru's birthday in four days. As a surprise, Haruka had bought her a painting she'd always wanted – one that had been in a private collection for years but had been put up for sale a few months before. In fact, Haruka had found out about the intended sale and bought the painting almost before it came onto the market, and subsequently had to endure Michiru's disappointment once she found out the painting was already gone. Haruka had enjoyably been anticipating Michiru's surprise when she realised the painting was hers after all, and now here she was, reduced to gleaning comfort from their friend's possible death.

Haruka couldn't give her the painting in a few days' time; both of them would always remember it as the painting that arrived with Setsuna's death. Nothing expensive or unique would work. Maybe Haruka could get her a new set of violin strings; something small and practical. Something that wouldn't last.

Wrapping Michiru in a tight hug, she whispered, "I still wish Setsuna could have had a better ending. A happy ending. I thought she'd realise she made a mistake in leaving; that she'd come back…"

Drawing back, Michiru gave Haruka a sad smile. "Setsuna did come back, Haruka. She just couldn't stay."

"What do you think will happen to Kinmoku? Setsuna said the Crystal was broken, that the planet was going to be destroyed. Do you think there's any hope for them?"

The lightless depths of the ocean moved in Michiru's eyes. "It's always a struggle, to keep hope alive…"

The pained defeat in her voice was still echoing discomfortingly in Haruka's mind as she went to answer a tentative knock at the door the next day. It was Usagi of course, standing on the front step with rain streaming off her umbrella and sadness etched into her features.

She nervously bit her lip, perhaps expecting to be turned away. "Haruka, I know none of you probably want to see me right now, but…"

"It's okay, Princess," said Haruka, pulling the door back and standing out of the way. "You can come in."

Leaving Usagi's umbrella to drip in the hall, Haruka led her into the lounge where Michiru was sitting looking wan, her legs tucked under her and a book in her lap she clearly wasn't reading.

"Usagi." Michiru made an effort to acknowledge her cordially, though she didn't move.

"Michiru…Haruka…" Appearing to be at a loss as to what to do, Usagi finally sat down after standing aimlessly for a few moments. "Are Chibiusa and Hotaru here?"

"They're upstairs in Hotaru's room," said Haruka. "I could…Go get them?" she made the statement into a question, not relishing the thought of disturbing her daughter's privacy.

Usagi hesitated before nodding. "Please. I've barely seen Chibiusa at all…"

Haruka nodded back and went upstairs. She knocked quietly on Hotaru's door. "Hotaru? Chibiusa?"

There was a rustling that sounded like bedclothes on the other side of the door, and then it cracked open to reveal a rather tired and annoyed Chibiusa. "Haruka!" she hissed, "Hotaru has been crying all night, and I've only just gotten her to go to sleep. Did you really have to disturb us?"

"Is she still asleep?" Haruka said, being sure to keep her voice low.

Chibiusa checked behind her. "Yes."

"Then you can leave her. But your future mother is downstairs, and she wants to talk to you."

With a sigh, Chibiusa came out of Hotaru's room and clicked the door closed softly. "Fine," she said, flouncing past Haruka and preceding her down the stairs. Her grief was poorly concealed behind her brazen exterior; diamond tears glittered in the corners of her eyes and she was pale with the effort of holding them back.

Michiru had apparently gotten up to make tea for everyone, since there was a tea tray with several cups sitting on the coffee table when Haruka returned to the lounge. Usagi placed her teacup back in its saucer as soon as she saw Chibiusa, her eyes brimming.

"Chibiusa…" she whispered.

Chibiusa nearly cracked, but quickly covered the slip by throwing herself down onto one of the couches, exclaiming too loudly, "you didn't need to come, Usagi. I'm fine. Everyone here is fine. Pluto did her duty. That's all anyone cares about isn't it? That's all—That's all Pluto thought about. Her duty. She didn't even say goodbye. She didn't think about any of us."

"You know that's not true," said Usagi, her expression stricken. Haruka knew she understood as well as anyone why Chibiusa was reacting this way; how deeply she must be feeling as if she'd been abandoned, but that didn't mean it didn't still hurt her to hear Chibiusa speak like that. "Setsuna gave her life because she loved us. If there'd been another way, she would have taken it, I'm sure. If I'd known what she was going to do, I would have…I should have…I should have done something." Usagi glanced up sorrowfully at all of them. "I'm sorry. I failed. I failed everyone."

She sniffed and lowered her head, hands tight in her lap. Her shoulders shook, and soon she was sobbing. "I wanted to save everyone. I thought I could. Why? Why did it have to turn out like this?"

Rubbing a hand across her eyes, Usagi visibly fought to regain control of herself. "I'm sorry," she said again. "This isn't about me, I know."

Haruka hadn't been able to bring herself to sit down yet; she was still hovering, like she was waiting for something to happen, a battle maybe that would allow her to fix this unfixable emotional mess. She was always better with an enemy to fight, with something to do. She wanted to pretend there _was_ still something she _could_ do, instead of being helpless.

Michiru shifted from her own seat and moved to sit beside Usagi, taking her hand. "Usagi. We needed you and Chibiusa on the ground that day. The monsters would have overwhelmed us without both of you there. Setsuna would have known that. She never would have chosen to save herself and leave us in danger. That's not who she was."

"You're right, Michiru-mama. That's not who she was." None of them had noticed Hotaru's quiet arrival until she spoke. She moved further into the room and cleaved to Haruka's side for a moment, the way she used to as a little girl when she wanted to be comforted from a nightmare.

Thin and miserable, Chibiusa's voice floated into the silence. "But Puu was my best friend. What am I supposed to do now?"

Hotaru's arms tightened around Haruka for a moment before she loosened her hold and went to sit beside Chibiusa on the couch. Drawing Chibiusa closer until she was resting against her, Hotaru said sadly, "All we can do is remember Pluto…And let her go."

"Let her go?" said Usagi sharply. "But…Michiru, didn't you say that not even death could hold Pluto forever?"

Michiru nodded, looking tired. "Yes, I did say that. And I meant it. But Pluto had been alive for a very long time, Usagi. If she decides not to come back this time, we have to accept that."

Usagi tossed her head, pouting like the fourteen year old she'd once been. "I don't want to accept that at all."

"That's selfish, Princess," Haruka admonished, though she was aware her own feelings were much the same. "You should do it…For Pluto's sake."

Speaking so softly Haruka almost couldn't hear her over the rain, Usagi replied, "Setsuna always wanted to protect all of us. To make sure we had a future. But this…Isn't the future I wanted. If it's going to cost me the people I love, why would I want Crystal Tokyo at all? It's meant to be an era when the world finally comes back into balance again, but how can that happen if we're incomplete?"

"Pluto knew better than anyone that the future was always changing," Michiru said. "And she also knew that sometimes, no matter how much we might wish otherwise, some things can't be changed. Right now, I don't even know if we can say which of those situations we're in."

Sitting up straighter, Usagi seemed suddenly comforted by Michiru's words. "Taiki…She lost her powers when Setsuna left, didn't she? But she got them back again at the Doors…The power of Making…"

Haruka didn't really see what she was getting at. "Well, I think we can all be glad about that, Princess, but why bring it up? What does it have to do with our situation?"

Usagi smiled. "The whole universe is connected, Haruka. I think Setsuna – Sailor Pluto – knew that too."

"She did know that," said Michiru, her voice full of melancholy. "I just wish she'd realised more often that it meant she was connected too."

For a moment, it seemed like Usagi might be about to speak again, but instead she gave herself a little shake and started on a different track. "I'm sorry; I shouldn't be here making you all take care of me like this. That's not why I came. I…Have a message from Seiya, actually. She asked me to deliver it for her."

Bristling from habit, Haruka crossed her arms. "Go on."

"Yaten is doing better today, so the three of them are going back to their flat. Despite what Setsuna said, they don't want to give up. They want to stay here and carry on with their search for the Crystal."

"That's fine," said Haruka stiffly. "I have no objections. I'm sure Michiru doesn't either."

Michiru murmured her agreement, but Haruka saw something flicker through her eyes. They still didn't know whether Setsuna's intervention on Kinmoku was what had caused the catastrophe on Earth; and whether Earth's subsequent restoration had doomed Kinmoku again. Or what effect finding and restoring the Crystal might have on Earth's future, if indeed there was some link between the planets.

It was something Haruka and Michiru would have to investigate quietly, away from Usagi's eyes, but in the meantime, they couldn't disallow the Starlights from their search when they'd so recently risked their lives in battle to save the Earth.

"I knew you'd agree," said Usagi, smiling in relief and unaware of the silent communication passing between Haruka and Michiru.

"If Puu…" Chibiusa swallowed and closed her eyes for a moment, a spasm of pain passing across her face. "If she's really not coming back, I'll make sure to keep an eye on the Doors when I return to the thirtieth century, along with Diana and Hotaru. Someone…Someone will have to do that now."

"We'll see Setsuna again," Usagi repeated with conviction. "She's out there somewhere, and when she's ready, she'll find her way back to us."

Hotaru took Chibiusa's hand. Haruka and Michiru didn't meet Usagi's eyes. Outside, the rain continued to fall.


	15. Chapter 15

 

Haruka disappeared into the garage at about eleven o'clock that night, declaring her intention to work on one of her cars. Michiru waited about half an hour before following her, just to be safe, though Hotaru and Chibiusa had already gone upstairs some hours ago and were probably too wrapped up in each other to be worrying about what Haruka and Michiru were doing.

Michiru took two full mugs with her when she went; a coffee for Haruka and green tea for herself. The kind she and Setsuna both used to like.

Never one for being still, Haruka was leaning over the hood of one of her cars, grease smeared on her hands as she tinkered with something in the engine.

She hastily straightened up as Michiru approached and wiped her hands.

"Thanks," she said, taking the proffered coffee and sipping appreciatively. "This is good."

Looking for somewhere cleanish to perch, Michiru chose a wooden bench and warmed her cold fingers on her mug. Luckily it was still raining hard. In the event that either Hotaru or Chibiusa did come downstairs, it was unlikely they'd hear anything. The last thing Michiru wanted was for Hotaru to be dragged into this; she should be allowed to grieve without having to worry about fighting the Starlights and possibly dooming Kinmoku to be destroyed.

With a task in front of her, Michiru had pushed her own grief aside temporarily. She knew it was there, lurking in the depths of her heart, but she couldn't afford to feel it right now. There'd be time enough later, once the last battle was done.

"We need to decide what to do, Haruka."

"I know," said Haruka, her hair rippling in the glow of the harsh bare lightbulb above as she nodded her head. She took another sip of her coffee. "How much of a risk do you think Kinmoku's restoration could pose to Earth's future?"

"Even Setsuna said she didn't know. But…I can't believe she would have taken action to save Kinmoku unless she was sure it wouldn't harm the Earth. She hardly ever meddled in the timeline like that, or allowed others to do so."

"That's true," said Haruka. "But directly after that, Setsuna was sealed at the Doors and chaos broke out on Earth. It's unlikely that's a coincidence."

Michiru started at Haruka's word choice. "Do you think that's it? What happened on Earth – Setsuna being trapped – Could Chaos have been behind everything?"

Haruka frowned and titled her head, considering. "That's not what I was getting at, but it's certainly possible. Isn't Chaos the eternal enemy of our Princess? But either way, we still don't know whether changing Kinmoku's future will trigger catastrophe for the Earth. Probably the only one who'd even be able to guess is Pluto, and we don't have her here to tell us."

"Perhaps they won't be able to fix the Crystal…"

"In which case the Starlights and Princess Kakyuu and everyone else who lives on that planet will die."

From the tone of Haruka's voice, Michiru knew that outcome was as distasteful to Haruka as it was to her.

And there was the fact that Yaten had saved Haruka's life. And Michiru was indebted to her because of it. That was something she hadn't even yet had the chance to discuss with Haruka.

She placed down her unfinished tea. "There's something else, Haruka. When you were injured and Yaten healed you…She didn't want to. She nearly refused."

"I know. Seiya told me that."

"Did she also tell you that I promised Yaten a favour in return for saving your life?"

"What?" Haruka looked surprised. "No, she didn't tell me that." The shadows lurking in her eyes lessened for a moment as she laughed. "In that case, we both owe Yaten. I promised her a favour too, for saving _your_ life."

"I wasn't injured!"

"No." Placing her cup down and moving with the fluid grace of her element, Haruka crossed the small space between them and wrapped Michiru in a warm embrace. "But you would have died protecting me from those monsters. You weren't going to leave my side." For a moment, Michiru felt a tremour pass through Haruka's body. "I couldn't have stood that, Michiru. Yaten saving me saved both of us; she earned a favour from me as well."

Michiru leaned into Haruka's arms, caressing her, wordlessly comforting. "Taiki and Seiya fought side by side with us, even after Pluto told them she didn't know if saving Earth would doom Kinmoku. Destroying their future, after all they've done…"

"I know," said Haruka softly. "It's a shitty choice to have to make. What about your Mirror? Is that showing anything?"

"It's completely clear. And I can't feel any premonitions of danger."

"Me neither. I doubt any of the others have felt anything either; otherwise someone would have called us."

Drawing away so she could look into Haruka's eyes, Michiru took her hands and said, "whatever we decide, Haruka, we have to be united."

Haruka's hands tightened in hers, and her gaze didn't falter. "We will be, Michiru. Always."

* * *

Taiki opened her eyes and she saw the stars, shimmering softly in a sky the colour of deep blue ink. There was something about those stars that tugged at her with faint familiarity, but she couldn't understand why at first. She didn't know these constellations; was sure she had never flown through the darkness of space between them.

It was the Earth's solar system. The realisation clicked into her mind at the same time as she recognised it wasn't the solar system as she knew it now. These stars were alive – Mercury, Mars, Venus, Uranus, Neptune, all the others. She couldn't say how, but suddenly Taiki was sure she was seeing the world as it had been, before the fall of the Silver Millennium. A strange nostalgic pain filled her heart to think she was gazing upon a starmap that probably not even the soldiers of Earth would recognise as belonging to their own past.

None perhaps save one.

As Taiki became more aware of her surroundings, she felt a soft mattress beneath her and a sheer fine cover over her that easily slipped away as she half sat up, trying to see where she was. It was a room of some kind, she thought, but so dark she could see little beyond shadows. That explained something else strange about the stars she hadn't quite understood at first – they were a projection, glittering where the ceiling should be – a hologram perhaps, but one more intricate and beautiful than any Taiki had ever seen.

She felt an impossibly familiar warmth at her side a moment before she was pulled back down into the bed. Her heart jolted, and Taiki knew this was a dream, it had to be, but oh, she didn't want it to stop. Every moment of this was going to hurt; Taiki could already feel the throb of it deep in her chest, and it would only get worse when she awoke, remembering something that could never again happen in the world where she lived.

Still, she went back into the sweet dream willingly. She wanted to. Gasped and shivered as Setsuna whispered into her ear, "don't leave yet; you only just got here."

Hardly daring to breathe Taiki looked at her, seeing her eyes filled with the love she'd always wanted to see and no longer veiled or uncertain. Setsuna herself looked lighter, happier, the sad shadows that had always lingered on her face banished at last.

"Setsuna," said Taiki, half-choked, melting into the arms that reached for her, kissing Setsuna and feeling her respond, touching her and relishing the warm, solid feeling of her body.

Holding Setsuna close, Taiki could almost lie to herself. She could almost pretend that the battle at the Shrine hadn't ended as she knew it had; that they'd all survived and Setsuna had come back to Earth, come back for her.

Drawing back to breathe at last, tears beading her eyelashes, Taiki insisted, "this can't be real, Setsuna. You're dead. I felt you die. We all did."

Setsuna reached out a hand to wipe Taiki's tears away, her smile growing sad. "I couldn't stay, Taiki. I'm sorry. But I had to see you again. We had so little time at the Doors."

"Where are we?" asked Taiki, though she knew it didn't really matter. "This room; this place. How is it even possible?"

"I am the guardian of time and space," Setsuna replied, amusement momentarily sparkling in her eyes. "Very few realities are closed to me, even as I am now. But as to where…This is…Shall we say…Some version of my bedroom in Charon Castle. It was once my home during the Silver Millennium, but I never really lived here."

"Because of the Doors?"

"Because of the Doors," Setsuna agreed.

A sudden luminescence appeared above the bed, and when Taiki looked up, she saw it was the Sacred Crystal restored.

"You know what this is, don't you?" asked Setsuna.

Taiki nodded, pulling Setsuna's hand closer to her. "Somehow at the Doors, you showed me. I know how to find it. I know…I think I know what I need to do to make it whole again. But what about the Earth? When you saved Kinmoku…"

Setsuna's reply was sure. "What happened to Earth was the work of an enemy. It was nothing to do with Kinmoku. Both planets can prosper. I saw that, just as—"

"Just as you were dying," Taiki whispered, turning her head to look into Setsuna's eyes.

Setsuna tugged Taiki's hand up to her lips and kissed it. "Don't talk about it now," she said, her voice hitching. "We don't have much time."

"And even you, as the guardian of time, cannot change that?"

"I'm not omniscient, Taiki."

"I know."

Taiki snuggled closer to Setsuna, unable to understand how this could feel so real when she knew Setsuna was dead; when she knew she no longer had a body Taiki could touch.

"I do love you Taiki," she heard Setsuna murmur. "I should have told you…Long before this. At the Doors, I tried to make things right. I tried to show you…"

"I know," whispered Taiki, her lips against warm flesh. "You gave me back my power. The power of possibility. The power to save the Crystal. And you gave me some of yours too, didn't you? I saw a glimpse of something, like another reality; you and I kissing with power flowing between our hands. Was that when you went back to save my planet?"

Setsuna nodded, eyes dark and lustrous as she looked up. "I didn't want you and your planet to perish. So I went back into the past and…" She sighed. "I'm sorry; there isn't time to explain it all. But at the Doors, when I gave you some of my power…You gave me some of yours as well. That's part of the reason why I was able to break free of the Doors. I think it's just…One of those things that happen, when two people are compatible. They merge."

The sultry edge that entered Setsuna's voice for a moment nearly made Taiki lose her train of thought, but she stubbornly ignored the prickle between her thighs and stuck to the subject at hand. "But I still don't understand why you were trapped. Or what caused the Earth to lose coherence if it wasn't Kinmoku. Or why—"

"Shh," said Setsuna softly, placing a silencing finger to Taiki's lips. "I've already told you it was an enemy. A very old and powerful enemy our Princess has battled many times. My loss was acceptable, in light of what we might have lost otherwise. But there's something more important we have to talk about, Taiki. Haruka and Michiru – They don't know whether or not restoring Kinmoku will harm the Earth. You know what that means don't you?"

Though Taiki by no means felt these answers told her all she wished, she recognised that Setsuna had said as much as she could, or as much as she wanted to, and reluctantly forced her mind away from all the questions she still had. And truthfully, Setsuna had a point about Haruka and Michiru. It had been in the back of Taiki's mind since the battle at the Shrine, not quite acknowledged but too important to ignore. Reluctantly, she nodded. "It means they might try to stop us from finding and restoring the Crystal."

"You have to tell them – from me – that it's okay. That I promise them the Earth won't be harmed if you save your planet."

"How am I going to convince them the message is really from you? That I didn't just dream it or make it up?"

Fond warmth entered Setsuna's eyes as she told Taiki how to convince them. "Tell them about the first birthday party they gave me. I'll never know, but I suspect it was Hotaru's idea initially. They threw me a surprise party, and it's fair to say I was puzzled. I couldn't understand what they were celebrating, or why. I kept trying to explain that my Earth birthdate is only a formality at best anyway. That my age can't exactly be measured like that. That I wasn't someone for whom…Others usually celebrated. After all, up until that point, my very existence had been a secret from most of the world.

"Finally Haruka just got this impatient look on her face and said, 'Setsuna, none of us is exactly normal. This isn't the first life for any of us, but why does that matter? We're here now together – a family – and we can finally celebrate all the things we couldn't before. We should seize the chance to live instead of running away from it.'"

"And?" said Taiki. "What happened next? What did you do?" asking as much because she wanted to know as because of the necessity of accurately reporting the events to Haruka and Michiru when the time came.

Setsuna gave an embarrassed laugh. "I cried. I hadn't cried in front of anyone in centuries. I think I was more mortified than they were. Poor Haruka didn't know what to do. Michiru gave me tea, I think. Hotaru…Hotaru just hugged me for a long time, and whispered – so quietly I don't think Haruka and Michiru heard – that she knew how I felt; how awful it was to be without a friend in the world; to have a burden so onerous and dangerous no one wanted to stay near you, but that it was okay because we were all the same and I wasn't alone anymore."

Reaching up, Setsuna touched Taiki's cheek. "I think that was the first time I really let myself believe that my life was on Earth now, and not at the Doors. But even then, the knowledge was lurking that one day I'd have to go back. That one day it would all disappear. And truthfully, I still don't know whether I should have gone or not. When I did go back, I became…Discontent and inattentive, and that is part of what caused all the problems, but it was also because of the power of the Doors that I was able to save the Earth. And I can't honestly say I'll never need that power again. I can't promise—"

"The time for promises has been and gone already," said Taiki, returning Setsuna's touch with a hand that trembled. "And that's okay. I didn't go to the Doors thinking I was going to save you and get a happy ending. I just…Wanted to help you because I care about you. Because I love you."

Closing her eyes, Taiki leaned down and kissed Setsuna, knowing this would be the last time; that she wouldn't be asleep for much longer. She reached for Setsuna, felt Setsuna reaching for her, but their arms wouldn't hold. An inexorable current was sweeping them apart and everything was falling away; the bedroom and the stars and Setsuna's warmth, and then Taiki was being jerked awake in her own bed by the sound of Seiya knocking on her door and calling her name. And from the edge of anxiety in her voice, Taiki guessed Seiya had been trying to wake her for some time.

Throwing off the covers, Taiki managed to stumble over to the door and push it open. "I'm awake, Seiya," she said, more shortly than she meant to. "And I'm fine. I'm going to have a bath, and then we'll talk. Okay?"

Looking rather shocked, Seiya offered a hasty affirmative and stood aside to let Taiki pass.

After a few steps, Taiki stopped. She did desperately want some time to herself to memorise all the details of the dream before it faded, but it wasn't fair of her to be impatient with Seiya. Taiki knew these last few days had been hard on her; that she was worried about Yaten, worried about Taiki herself, worried about finding the Crystal given what Pluto had told them at the Doors.

The least Taiki could do was offer her a moment's reassurance. Turning back, she placed her hand on Seiya's shoulder. "I really am all right," she promised, looking into her eyes. "I just need some time alone first before I can face today."

Seiya nodded and Taiki felt some of the tension in her shoulder ease as she gave a faint smile. "It's fine, Taiki, but not too long okay? I know the timing is awful – I know it's probably the last thing you want to be thinking about but—"

"I know. We still have the Crystal to find. We still have our duty."

In the bath, Taiki sank down into a world of water and steam and allowed her eyes to close. The dream was still close; close enough that with just a little effort she could bring back the feel of Setsuna's chest moving against hers as she breathed, the sweet scent of her skin, the lustre of her eyes. The warmth of her body as she held Taiki close.

Clutching her knees close to her chest, Taiki cried, being sure not to make a sound, burning into her mind Setsuna's exact tone of voice, the look on her face, as she'd told Taiki she loved her.

As Taiki had half-suspected, this hadn't ended in Setsuna choosing her. Maybe that had never really been a choice Setsuna could make. But Taiki had something now she didn't have before, and not for anything in the world would she have traded it. She knew Setsuna had loved her. Loved her enough to give her the most precious gift she could – a future.

And Taiki wasn't going to waste that.


	16. Chapter 16

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is a bit self-indulgent, and there's a good chunk of it that is not strictly necessary to the main plot. Consider it an interlude if you will, in which we get to learn a bit more about Seiya and Yaten. Some of what's explored here has been hinted at in earlier parts of the fic; some of it relates to an as yet unpublished and unfinished stand-alone fic about them that I've been working on, which I will hopefully finish eventually.
> 
> We'll end the detour and get back into the story proper next chapter. I'm very sorry for the excess of angst and lesbians.

 Yaten was already up and dressed when Taiki emerged from the bathroom and went into the apartment's rather cramped lounge.

"Hey Taiki, you doing okay?" As she asked, there was an unusually gentle look in Yaten's expressive green eyes that would have surprised anyone who didn't know her.

Selecting an armchair, Taiki gave a faint half-smile and nodded, hoping that Yaten's question wasn't related to hearing some stray sound from her breakdown in the bathroom.

"I'm doing okay," she confirmed. "What about you?"

Even though it was now the fourth day since the battle, Yaten still hadn't fully recovered from healing Haruka's wounds.

"I have enough energy to go out with you and Seiya," Yaten replied promptly, which wasn't really what Taiki had been asking.

Taiki frowned and would have said something else but just then Seiya came over from the kitchen, carrying a tray of hot drinks. She handed one each to Taiki and Yaten before taking the last mug for herself.

Yaten took a sip of her drink and grimaced. "Why have you given me coffee, Seiya? I hate coffee."

"Oh shit, sorry. The one I have must be yours. Let's switch."

Unlike Yaten and Taiki, Seiya was still in her pyjamas, and probably hadn't even run a cursory comb through her hair by the looks of things. She nearly spilled the coffee as she and Yaten switched mugs and gave another flustered apology. Taiki inwardly raised an eyebrow.

After a few quiet moments, which were either to allow them to enjoy their drinks or, more likely, so Seiya could collect herself, Seiya stood up, a familiar stubborn expression on her face as she said decisively,

"All right. We know why we're here. We need to talk about the Crystal. Regardless of what Setsuna said, we're not giving up. We know it is here somewhere, and the fact that we didn't find a way to fix it in that other reality doesn't mean it has to be the same in this one."

"Of course we're not giving up," said Yaten, as it stating an obvious truth that Seiya should have already realised. "But aren't you forgetting something? _Those two_. Uranus and Neptune."

Seiya wrinkled her brow. "Well, maybe, but we still don't really know if—"

A look of frustration flashed across Yaten's face. "Don't play dumb, Seiya. You told me that at the Doors, Pluto said she didn't know whether restoring Kinmoku was what caused the Earth to go into chaos. Therefore, us finding and restoring the Crystal could potentially pose a threat to the future of this planet. Uranus and Neptune will have thought of that too, and they'll be preparing to do something about it."

"Yes, that's true," said Seiya, acknowledging Yaten's point with a nod, "but all of us just worked together to save the Earth. I don't want to go back to being enemies with them. It would be nice to think that…We were finally starting to move into new territory."

"They might feel the same," said Yaten. "But it won't change anything. This is the future of our planet we're talking about, and from Uranus's and Neptune's perspective, it's the future of theirs. This has the potential to get ugly."

"There might be another way," said Taiki, breaking the rising tension that was obviously about more than their search for the Crystal.

Seiya turned to her. "What do you mean?"

Taiki was silent for a short time, loathe to talk about her dream of Setsuna, wishing she could keep the experience all to herself though she knew she couldn't.

"I had a dream before I woke up this morning. Only…I don't think it was a dream. I saw Setsuna."

She saw the look Yaten and Seiya exchanged.

"Taiki," said Yaten cautiously, "it's perfectly understandable you'd dream about Setsuna, but—"

"Like I said," Taiki repeated firmly, "It was more than a dream. I spoke to her. She told me that…When she was fighting to save the Earth, she realised that what had happened had nothing to do with Kinmoku. Both planets can survive. She was very clear about that."

"Even if that's true," said Yaten, "Haruka and Michiru aren't going to believe it. Even if they want to. It's a chance they can't afford to take."

"I know. Setsuna told me something – a story from the past about the three of them I couldn't know any other way—"

"Unless she told you when she was alive," Yaten put in. "I'm not saying I don't believe you," she added quickly as Taiki gave her a sharp look. "I'm just saying if I was Haruka or Michiru I wouldn't be convinced by that. Not when the stakes are this high."

It actually hadn't occurred to Taiki before then, but Yaten was right. Technically, Setsuna could easily have told her that story about the birthday party when she was alive, and yet for reasons she couldn't exactly put into words, Taiki knew it wasn't something the old Setsuna would have ever shared with her, and she got the feeling Haruka and Michiru would recognise that too.

But she still had to concede Yaten's point, and with a sigh, she nodded. "You're right. We do need a contingency plan, in case it doesn't work."

"Yes," Yaten agreed. "And you can leave it to me. I've already thought of something."

Taiki noticed Seiya's eyes darken with anxiety for a moment, but all she said was, "what have you come up with?"

"You're not going to like it, Seiya."

"Okaay," said Seiya slowly, "but what is it?"

After Yaten explained her plan to them, Taiki understood why she thought Seiya wouldn't like it, and the reasons had nothing to do with worries over her still-weakened state. Indeed, Yaten's proposition gave Taiki herself an unpleasant taste in her mouth, for all it was a highly effective strategy.

"You're right," said Seiya shortly. "I don't like it. It's…"

"I know," said Yaten. "I already know everything you're going to say, and I agree with you. But it's for Kinmoku, Seiya. If I have to tarnish myself to save it, then I'll do it with no regrets." She gave a slightly bitter smile. "It's not like I had much honour to begin with."

Seiya frowned. "Don't say that about yourself."

The quiet sincerity of the words seemed to get to Yaten, and for a moment it was evident to all of them how little she really wanted to embark upon the course of action she'd proposed, but she quickly swept her reluctance aside.

"It's okay, Seiya. I can do this. We can't go home and tell the Princess we've failed."

After a searching examination of Yaten's face, Seiya grudgingly gave her agreement. "All right. As long as Taiki is okay with it too."

"I don't feel good about it," said Taiki, "but I don't think we have much choice right now. If Haruka and Michiru don't believe me about Setsuna, Yaten's idea is probably the one thing that's going to work."

She didn't say the other thought that crossed her mind: That if they did successfully pull off Yaten's plan, there was almost no chance they wouldn't be hunted down and killed for it. But that, Taiki supposed, would have to be an acceptable sacrifice, as long as they saved Kinmoku in the process.

Taiki hoped Setsuna would understand, if she was watching from somewhere. Not half an hour ago, Taiki had been determined not to waste Setsuna's gift of a future, but perhaps this was the best she could do. To use her life to ensure the life of her planet. Perhaps that was all a soldier could ask.

The feelings were so different to what Taiki had become used to that she was taken aback for a moment. For so long, she'd been doing her duty for duty's sake, never fully giving herself over, holding on to old resentments; believing in herself perhaps, but not in anything around her. Always keeping her distance for fear of what would happen if she placed her trust once more in the world that had let her down.

She saw now that it had been a mean and fearful way to live, and even if these proved to be her last days, Taiki decided she was going to leave that old attitude behind her; to live perhaps as Setsuna might have, full of love for those she served.

A sombre mood settled over the room, not helped by the rain still falling outside. No doubt Seiya and Yaten understood the likely price here as well as Taiki did. Seiya had placed her coffee down and joined Yaten on the couch, and there was something anguished in her look as she reached out to caress Yaten's knee in a gesture of comfort.

As slight as the touch was, Yaten immediately jerked away, annoyance flickering into her eyes as she turned towards Seiya. "Seiya, this isn't the time for that."

Taiki looked with great attention at a spot on the floor and tried to pretend she was invisible. Seiya's show of affection hadn't bothered her at all, but it was distinctly uncomfortable having to witness her hurt and embarrassment at being rejected.

"Well," said Seiya, standing up, her cheeks flushed and her eyes not quite meeting anyone else's, "Guess I'll go have a shower."

Yaten crossed her arms and ensconced herself deeper in the couch. Her expression was impossible to read.

Only once Taiki heard the sound of the shower going did she look up and ask, "What's going on with you and Seiya? Why are you so mad at her?"

A strange spasm passed across Yaten's face that might have been pain. "I can't, Taiki. I can't explain." She almost leapt to her feet and was halfway to the room she shared with Seiya before she stopped and turned back. "I'm sorry. The timing of this…And with everything you've just been through with losing Setsuna…You must think I'm the biggest jerk."

"Yaten, I don't even understand what's going on."

"I know." Yaten was only half-focused on Taiki, her eyes growing stormy as they were drawn towards the closed door of the bathroom.

"Yaten!"

The sharpness of Taiki's tone cut through Yaten's distraction, and the wary look she gave to Taiki suggested she fully expected a scolding. And truthfully, Taiki was half-inclined to give it to her – surely even Yaten had to realise this was the worst possible time for her dramatics. But as ridiculous and infuriating as this was in some ways, it was also obvious to Taiki that Yaten's disturbance wasn't feigned – it was genuine, whatever the cause.

So as calmly as possible Taiki drew in a breath, got out of her chair and said in her best voice of reason, "I'm going out for a walk. When I get back, this…thing with you and Seiya had better be resolved, at least for now. We can't afford this. We have to find the Crystal soon – for all we know, Haruka and Michiru might have decided to start looking for it too, to keep it out of our hands."

"Don't worry about me and Seiya," said Yaten. "That's…" She shrugged, and quickly changed the subject. "Anyway, I agree about the Crystal, but we still don't know where it is."

"Well, that was the other thing I wanted to tell you. I do know. Setsuna all but told me at the Doors. And I'm pretty sure I know how to fix it too."

Yaten's eyes grew wide. "Taiki…Why didn't you say something sooner?"

"Because I had to think it all out. I didn't want to be wrong. Tell Seiya when she comes out. We'll talk about it more when I get back."

Taiki made her way over to the flat's front door but stopped short of opening it as Yaten called her name.

"What is it Yaten?" she asked, with as much patience as she could muster.

Yaten was chewing her lip. "Make sure to take an umbrella with you. It's still raining out there."

A soaking in Tokyo's rain hardly posed any kind of hazard to one of Kinmoku's elite warriors, but Taiki appreciated the gesture of care all the same and grabbed an umbrella from the hall stand, giving Yaten a half-smile.

"Thanks. I'll get some food for us while we're out. Might as well do something useful."

She quickly finished making her escape as the shower ceased, and left hoping she wouldn't come back to an even bigger mess than the ill-understood one she was leaving behind.

* * *

 As Yaten turned away from the closing door, her eyes latched onto the sight of Seiya, who was coming out of the bathroom with a towel wrapped around her, her fine dark hair undone from its ponytail and splayed over her shoulders.

A concerned look grew on her face as she put together the empty lounge and the just-closed door. "Have we driven Taiki out?"

"Kind of," said Yaten guiltily. "She said she was going to get food."

Seiya swore and walked into their bedroom, leaving the door ajar. Hesitantly Yaten followed her and watched as she selected a striped navy suit from the wardrobe.

"You always wear suits when we come to Earth."

"Well, they're not exactly a thing on Kinmoku, so I have to make the most of the opportunities when I get them. Plus they make me look hot."

Ignoring the morning's events, Seiya flashed Yaten and grin and dropped the towel around her body a little too deliberately. Yaten flicked her gaze away but continued to watch Seiya from the corner of her eye as she dressed.

"I'm sorry about before," Yaten said, still not fully looking at Seiya. "For snapping at you. For pushing you away."

"You've been pushing me away for days," said Seiya, hurt evident in her voice though she didn't sound angry. "Ever since you healed Uranus. I guess I shouldn't have forced you to do it."

"You didn't force me," said Yaten, her surprise at Seiya's misconception finally making her turn her head and look at Seiya properly. "That's not…"

Seiya paused in the act of pulling her jacket on, holding Yaten's gaze. Yaten could tell she was struggling to keep herself from saying something, perhaps from asking what the hell Yaten was so upset about if not that. But then her eyes lost some of their intensity and she finished getting into her jacket with a shrug, obviously winning the battle to stay silent on the subject.

"Okay," said Seiya, her tone gentler than Yaten deserved. "But we shouldn't…I mean, now isn't the time, is it? And what about Taiki? We shouldn't be exposing her to this stuff. We need to be there for her. That dream she mentioned about Setsuna…"

"It was pretty obvious she didn't want to talk about that, though. Not more than she had to."

"Well yeah I know, but—"

"Seiya—"

At the almost-catch in Yaten's voice, Seiya fell silent.

Yaten's heart was beating uncomfortably fast and her mouth was dry. She was reminded, not for the first time in her life, that she wasn't good at being honest about her feelings.

"It's not the time," Yaten said before she could change her mind, "but if we end up having to fight Uranus and Neptune – I hope we won't, but if we do – they'll be tough opponents. In light of that, now might be a better time than never."

For a moment Seiya looked like she might try to give a leader's pep-talk and jolly Yaten out of her caution, but she obviously thought better of it and nodded her agreement instead.

"That's probably depressingly accurate. So, what did you want to say? Because I'm not going to lie, Yaten. I don't get what's going on with you. With this, even. We've been together six months and you still won't acknowledge me in public. You freaked out this morning when I touched you in front of Taiki. _Taiki_. When I was trying to comfort you because I know how crappy it's going to be for you if we end up needing to use your plan. I would have done that even if we weren't together. It's not like I was trying to put my hand down your pants or something. And it might make some kind of sense if I'd been the one who initiated all this, who pushed you into it from the start, but I wasn't. _You_ were the one who…" Seiya trailed off and shook her head. "Honestly, if I didn't know better, I'd think you just wanted me as a fuckbuddy."

Yaten narrowed her eyes and shot Seiya a glance. "But you do know better, Seiya. You know that's not how I think of you."

Seiya's eyes flickered a deeper blue in recognition of the truth of Yaten's statement, but she didn't take back what she'd said. There was something hurt and raw and uncomprehending about her whole demeanour that was hard to witness, and that made Yaten feel more inadequate and unsure of herself than ever.

The truth was, Yaten still didn't entirely understand how this had happened; _why_ Seiya had gotten with her. It had all started in such a peculiar way, one night six months ago when Seiya had looked at Yaten, and Yaten couldn't say how she'd done it, but she'd known Yaten's feelings. She'd known Yaten was in love with her. And she'd done the very last thing Yaten expected. She'd responded. And Yaten still wasn't sure whether that first night had been because of Seiya's loneliness, or because she really wanted Yaten.

Yaten sucked in a frustrated breath. "It's just that I'm not good at the mushy stuff, Seiya. I'm not good at being soft. I'm not…" She trailed off, before forcing herself to plough on because what the hell, there were no guarantees they were going to be here tomorrow. "I'm not Usagi."

Seiya started, looking genuinely bewildered. "You think I view you as some kind of Usagi substitute?"

"Well, it's more that I worry about what you're going to do when you realise I'm _not_ a Usagi substitute, and I'm never going to be. You were in love with her for a long time after we went home, Seiya. You didn't talk about it or make a big deal of it, but you were."

"And I also knew nothing was ever going to come of it. I'd accepted that."

"But when those feelings had lasted such a long time, why did you respond to me so quickly? As soon as you realised? Like – Right then and there. Most people wouldn't do that. They'd need time to think about it and adjust."

"So what do you think, Yaten? That I was so miserable over Usagi the moment I learned you felt something for me I decided to jump right on that because you were there and convenient?"

"It sounds stupid when you say it like that, but yeah…Something along those lines."

"Don't you think I've got more respect for you – hell, more respect for myself, than to behave like that? Besides which, we're six months into this, Yaten. Have you not noticed all this time the way I look at you, the way I touch you? That I want to be _more_ open and affectionate with you, not less? What in Kinmoku's name do you think I mean when I say I love you?"

"I know how you feel about me now, Seiya."

Seiya gave an unhappy snort of scepticism. "Then why are we even having this conversation?"

"Because I'm not asking about now. I'm asking about that night."

Whenever Seiya showed affection, it always seemed spontaneous and natural. Yaten wished she could be that easy – having spent so much of her life _not_ reaching out to people, she couldn't help but feel awkward whenever she tried.

She wasn't even sure Seiya would welcome her touch right now – the more Yaten spoke, the more troubled Seiya was getting. Of course, knowing it would probably turn out like this, knowing she wasn't even explaining very well what was bothering her – This was a large part of why Yaten had never brought this up before.

Yaten moved closer, and Seiya didn't move away. Somewhat fortified by that, Yaten found the courage to stroke her fingers over Seiya's cheek, saying softly, "You were hurting and lonely back then. When you found out how I felt, it's like…Suddenly you had this way out of your situation that wasn't there before. Can you honestly say you ever would have started to think about me like that if you hadn't realised I was in love with you? Did you even think about whether I was right for you? About whether you wanted to be with me, or whether you were just running away from the pain of someone you couldn't have?

"I think about those things and it bothers me, Seiya, because I feel like maybe…I took advantage of you when your emotions were vulnerable, and now…" She shrugged helplessly. "You're so loyal that it would never even cross your mind that I'm not…Not suitable."

Seiya reassuringly took Yaten's hand. "When we got together, I wasn't still in love with Usagi."

"I know, but you were still sad at the way things had turned out. Your heart was still bruised." Stepping back, Yaten steeled herself, not sure of the answer she was going to get. "Just tell me what you were thinking that night. That's all I want to know."

Sitting down on the edge of the bed, Seiya played with a wrinkle in the duvet cover for a few moments, eyes hidden. When she glanced up, there was both regret and apology in her expression. "Is it so bad," she whispered, "if I did behave impulsively?" There was a pause before she continued. Yaten could tell that Seiya didn't like admitting what she said next, but she did all the same. "You're right, Yaten. It did hurt for a long time, having those feelings for Usagi and knowing she didn't feel the same. Knowing it was hopeless. I never really expected it to turn out any other way, but still—I couldn't help wishing for the impossible sometimes."

She gave Yaten a smile that was almost shy. "That's probably why I'd started thinking about the past. About what happened – or didn't happen – with us, all those years ago. I did tell you I'd been thinking about it that night. I was the one who brought it up. I guess I'd started wondering what would have happened if I'd already had someone in my life when we came to Earth the first time. Maybe Usagi and I could have just been friends, and things would have been simpler. I could have been happy with her without having all that emotional torment. But it was all just idle speculation. Things didn't turn out differently from how they did, and I never expected to have a chance with you. Not until that night when I realised."

Obviously screwing herself up for a confession that she thought Yaten wasn't going to like, Seiya continued, "Honestly Yaten, I can't say whether or not I was in love with you that first night. My feelings were still confused. But I definitely wanted you. When we were together, it was you I was thinking of, not anyone else."

Seiya stopped to give Yaten an intense look, making sure she saw the truth of that last statement.

"Maybe if you'd left the next morning, it would have just been a one night stand and that would have been it. But you didn't leave, and I was happy about it that morning and have been every morning since. If you're asking me all this now, I clearly did rush into things – I should have considered you more – how it would feel for you to sleep with me when you were in love with me, without really knowing what my feelings were. That was pretty selfish."

A weighty silence settled. In a way, Seiya's answer was the one Yaten had expected; perhaps that was also why she'd never asked before. Because she didn't like it; didn't like to think that she and Seiya had tainted beginnings, no matter what had built up since then. She stared unseeing at the blank bedroom wall past Seiya's head, remembering watching Seiya all that time after they'd gotten back to Kinmoku, wishing she could make her pain cease. Wanting to be the one to put laughter back in Seiya's smile, wanting Seiya's eyes to light for her instead of being shadowed with the memory of a girl on Earth she could never have. Until finally one day Yaten had admitted it to herself – that she was in love with Seiya, and wanted Seiya to love her back.

But their impulsive beginning made it difficult for Yaten to trust what they had, and instead of making Seiya happy, she spent too much time half-denying what they were to herself, as if that could reduce the pain in the event something went wrong. Which objectively Yaten could recognise as the worst possible strategy, and the one most likely to bring about exactly what she feared, but subjectively, it made her feel safe in a strange kind of way. Maybe because there was a part of her that found it more frightening to think of what would happen if she and Seiya did work out. Yaten knew it would mean demolishing a lot of her self-imposed walls.

Sitting down on the bed next to Seiya, Yaten leaned against her. "It's okay," she said reassuringly, though she knew Seiya must have seen from her expression that it did bother her at least a bit. "Truthfully, if you hadn't responded then, I probably would have run away and never let you see how I felt again."

"I know, Yaten. I realised that at the time. You usually tear anyone to pieces who makes you an offer."

"I don't like things that are empty, that's all. And most of the time, that's all people are offering. They don't know me well enough to offer anything else."

"It's not what I'm offering," said Seiya softly. "If you're worried I've been going along all this time not really thinking about what I'm doing, that's not the case. I have thought about it, and I want this. I want you." She turned towards Yaten and placed a hand on her cheek. Her eyes were steady, coloured like a clear night sky. "But this can't continue if you're going to keep pushing me away and acting like we're not even together half the time. That's not being in a relationship with someone. I'm not saying I want bouquets and chocolates, but be honest with me. Be honest with other people. If you really don't want me, then say so. And if you do, don't act like you don't."

Tilting her head up, Yaten caught Seiya by surprise with a kiss. "I do want you," she insisted when she drew back. "I don't want to lose what I have with you. It's too important to me." A slight smile played at the edges of her lips, but disappeared as she frowned. "I'm not very good at letting people love me. Part of my power is giving up my life force to heal other people. I don't always like having to share myself like that. I don't like that I don't always have full say over whether or not I help someone. It sometimes makes me withdraw more than I should in other sectors of my life." She shot Seiya a look of wry apology. "I know that's stuff you know about me already – you couldn't not after all this time. I'm not saying it because I think you don't know, but so you know I do have self-awareness that I'm like that. I don't always do a good job of overcoming it, but I'm going to try and do better. I don't want to keep hurting you."

"Thank you," said Seiya, fingers drifting into Yaten's silvery hair as she drew closer to place a kiss on the soft skin just below Yaten's ear.

Yaten closed her eyes and drew in a sharp breath as desire washed through her, but she placed a restraining hand on Seiya's chest as she said, "Wait Seiya. There's something else I need to explain. About the last few days – Why I haven't let you touch me."

Drawing back with a frown, Seiya said, "It's okay, Yaten. I got that. Withdrawing more than you should etcetera – I can read between the lines."

"Not correctly in this case," said Yaten. She chewed her lip. "At least, not entirely correct. I was embarrassed with Luna being there – that was part of what made me push you off initially, but…You know how when I've used up a lot of energy healing someone, I need help replenishing – At least if I'm going to get back to normal in any kind of reasonable time frame? And you know – I'm sure you remember – All those lectures we had to attend about it back in the day that talked about how there wasn't taking involved, just resonances of energy that helped my own body restore itself faster? Well, that's true most of the time. But not all the time.

"It's pretty rare…But…Sometimes, if a healer enters into a relationship with someone…That balance can change. Taking becomes possible."

"What? Yaten, are you sure about this?" Seiya asked suspiciously.

"Oh I'm sure. The Healing Guild just makes sure no one else knows about it. They think it will make people afraid of us. It's not something any of us are supposed to talk about. And because it's so rare, they think it's not necessary to create that kind of stigma. Most healers can't heal enough for it to even be a problem. It only becomes a possibility when a healer is really drained, and when they have someone with whom they have that kind of connection. With Luna the other night – It was fine. That was just…What normally happens. But when it was you, I felt – I realised…"

Guilt stirred in Yaten as she remembered that night at Hikawa Shrine; how she'd made herself shake Seiya off initially, but couldn't do it again when she felt Seiya's arm steal around her a second time. "I realised that first night at Hikawa Shrine it was starting to happen. I should have explained it to you, but I was so drained I didn't want you to let go. I knew it couldn't keep happening though. That's why I've forced myself not to have any contact since then. I won't be the reason something happens to you. Because you gave something to me you should have kept for yourself."

"That's why you haven't let me touch you?" said Seiya, her tone incredulous, her eyebrows rising towards her bangs.

Yaten gave Seiya a long, lingering glance, thinking of the days and nights she'd spent drifting in a miserable funk of exhaustion so deep she felt ill, with the temptation of Seiya's warmth so tormentingly close. All she'd wanted to do was to crawl into her arms and find comfort there. It had taken every ounce of self-control she had not to reach out and take what Seiya was offering.

The look was answer enough for Seiya. She shook her head in disbelief. "Yaten, I felt completely fine after that first night. I mean, what sort of energy transfer are we talking about here? Something so minuscule it doesn't matter?"

"I don't know, Seiya. A few nights ago was the first time it happened. It's the first time since we got together that I've had to use my power that much. I wasn't expecting it. I don't know how much damage it could do. That's why I decided I just…Couldn't reach for you. Not until I was sure it was safe."

"Okay, but Yaten…This is _me_. My special power, such as it is, is pretty much to be a giant punchy fist with infinite strength and endurance. And let's also not forget that if you don't reach out to me, or Taiki, or whoever, then you're placing yourself in a more vulnerable position than you need to be in. And, considering who we're probably going to be fighting pretty soon, I'd really prefer that wasn't the case."

"I'm recovered enough to fight!" Yaten protested.

"I know you are. That's not what I meant. I just meant…" Seiya trailed off and sighed. "I suppose I just can't believe you didn't tell me this days ago. Or months ago. Didn't you think I should know this was a possibility?"

"I should have told you," said Yaten. "I didn't because…I guess I was scared to admit what it meant. How close we've grown."

Seiya turned towards her with a frown. "So what do we do now? How do we manage this safely?"

"We'd be able to get advice," said Yaten, though she didn't like the thought of having to discuss her current predicament with the healers back on Kinmoku. "But for now…Let's just get through today. We can worry about the rest later."

"Taiki will need to know as well eventually. This could affect the current set up we have to manage you when you need us."

"Yeah, we can tell her. But again…Not now. Anyway." Yaten expelled a breath. "Now that we've talked, I should probably tell you that Taiki told me just before she left that she thinks she knows where the Crystal is, and how to restore it."

Yaten felt Seiya jump. "Yaten, that's kind of important!"

"I know, but if I'd said it to begin with, you would have wanted to rush off and finish our mission right away. And I wanted to talk to you. I know things haven't been great these last few days."

"Well, I'm glad to know you weren't mad at me. And – Thank you for telling me the rest." With a smile, Seiya brushed Yaten's hand fondly. "You're important to me, you know?"

"Yeah," said Yaten, voice wobbling as she caressed Seiya in return, her touch much more sensual. "I know that. You're…You're important to me too, Seiya."

Both of them felt the charge spring up; Yaten loved it when Seiya looked at her like this, her desire so obvious, but there was the distant sound of the apartment door opening before anything else could happen.

With regret, Yaten dropped her hand away from Seiya's body. "We'd better get out there. We've caused enough issues already this morning. Or I have."

"Yeah, let's get this thing done."

With her typical single-mindedness asserting itself, Seiya was off the bed and almost across the small floor space to the door before Yaten could catch up to her.

Managing to stop Seiya just before she opened the bedroom door, Yaten was momentarily at a loss as to what she intended to do. There were a lot of things she wanted to say, but they all would have taken more time than they had, so she found herself just wrapping her arms around Seiya tightly and giving her a searing kiss.

"Whatever happens, hold me tonight," Yaten whispered into her ear.

Seiya's expression was almost comically startled, her heartbeat pounding against Yaten's own. Then she relaxed into a smile, pulling Yaten closer against her.

"As much as you like," she whispered back. After holding Yaten a moment longer, Seiya dropped her arms with a sigh and opened the bedroom door.


	17. Chapter 17

 

Taiki heard the bedroom door open behind her as she was placing the provisions she'd bought on the kitchen bench. A quick glance reassured her that Yaten had apparently listened to her advice, because both she and Seiya looked much more at ease with each other. Noting their flushed and rumpled appearances, she gave them a lopsided smile. "Did I interrupt something?"

"No, absolutely not," said Seiya, who was more than a little shamefaced. "And Taiki, I'm so sorry. You shouldn't have had to go out in the rain like that. You've a right to expect better from us, especially now. Here, let me deal with all this – You should sit."

Gladly leaving the food to Seiya, Taiki took a seat at the kitchen table and said, "don't apologise. I know you and Yaten are here for me. Truthfully…" She paused. "My mind is a mess right now. I don't even know what I'm feeling. I keep thinking about Setsuna, but then I don't want to, because she's done so much for us and we're making plans against two of the people she loved best in this world."

Slipping into another of the empty chairs at the table, Yaten said, with almost no conviction, "well, who knows? Maybe Seiya's right and we won't have any problems with the Outer Senshi."

Seiya rolled her eyes. "Thanks, Yaten. Try to sound even _less_ convinced next time, if you can."

With an angry sigh, Yaten threw her arms in the air. "What can we do? It sucks. The whole thing sucks, but—"

"I know we don't have any choice," said Taiki. "I'm not suggesting we should do anything different to what we've discussed. I actually—"

She paused as Seiya placed an assortment of dishes down on the table. Most of Taiki's purchases had been instant pre-packaged meals, requiring little in the way of preparation. After Seiya joined them, Taiki picked up the thread she'd dropped.

"I'm pretty sure someone was watching me when I was out. I can't imagine who it would have been besides Uranus and Neptune. Maybe they've decided it will be easier to follow us to the Crystal rather than trying to find it on their own."

"At least we have time to eat then?" Seiya suggested, the comment laden with a humour darker than her usual light hearted flippancy.

Yaten shot Seiya a despairing look and shook her head, as if deciding she was well beyond the pale.

Taiki picked at her food, not really hungry. She didn't think that Seiya and Yaten had much appetite either, but they all made a show to each other of trying to eat.

 _Uranus and Neptune_.

It hadn't been an accident that Taiki had referred to them by their senshi titles. She didn't want to think of them as Haruka and Michiru, Setsuna's family, the women she'd started making friends with. That was over now, and the sooner she forgot the better.

Just another half-unfurled thread of possibility withered by Setsuna's death. Did she even realise how many things were going to be impacted by her being gone? She'd always seemed to think she barely existed in the world, that it wouldn't even notice if she went away.

But now all of them were looking at a very different future to what could have been in its place. All those other things that might have been were now just discarded timelines hovering beyond the touch of Taiki's fingertips, like Setsuna herself.

Yaten abruptly pushed her plate away. "This is unbearable. I'm done. Are you two ready to go?"

Taiki and Seiya nodded, one after the other. Together, all three took out their brooches, transformed into senshi form, and left to finish their mission, whatever the cost.

* * *

 "What is this place?" said Fighter, squinting against the harsh desert sun and gazing at the ruined stone remnants in front of them.

"The remains of Babylon," said Maker quietly. "This was the greatest city in the ancient world." Images flickered through Maker's head, glimpses of the city as it must have once been, bustling and full of life. This was part of what Setsuna had passed on to her; the knowledge they needed to find the Crystal.

"This is where the Crystal is?"

Maker nodded. "Come with me."

These crumbling remains looked nothing like the city in Maker's head, but she knew the Hanging Gardens had been right in the heart of Babylon. She walked across the sands, her footfalls and those of Fighter and Healer the only noise to disturb the silence.

There was the imprint of a huge square building before them, but only its foundation stones were left. Maker knew they'd found it though; for a moment the grandeur of the ancient wonder appeared before her like a ghost, as Setsuna must have seen it; an oasis of life thriving in a harsh land.

Besides, Maker could feel her; she could feel some remnant of Pluto's power still clinging to these stones, waiting for her. Raising a hand, Maker blasted away the desert sands with her powers, revealing the remains of a smooth stone floor scattered with rubble. There was one stone especially that called to Maker; little bigger than a pebble. She stooped to pick it up, catching an ancient shimmer still upon its surface. In her mind's eye, she saw Pluto walking between shadowed pillars, approaching a wall upon which her symbol gleamed. The pebble Maker held was a remnant of that, maybe all that had survived.

She remembered Pluto reaching out to touch the wall with wondering fingers, and imagined she felt the warmth of that touch sliding over her own hand. Other memories followed in quick succession – Pluto descending into a dark chamber with the crimson glow of her star seed lighting the way, driven by determination not to let Taiki and her world perish.

Maker started as she felt a touch on her arm.

"Maker, you're crying," said Healer, a frown marring her delicate features.

Hastily, Maker scrubbed at her eyes. "There should be a hidden chamber somewhere under the floor. The entrance is over that way."

Almost before she'd indicated the correct direction Fighter released a tightly focused blast of energy that blew apart the floor, revealing a yawning black hole.

"Why did you do that?" said Maker angrily, getting to her feet. "This place is ancient."

Not understanding Maker's point, Healer said, thinking they were in agreement, "The whole floor could have collapsed under us!"

"Not what I meant," Maker clarified. "These ruins have enormous cultural and historical significance for Earth—"

Fighter held up a hand. "Sorry, but we need this too badly to worry about damaging some ancient block work. And of course the floor didn't collapse under us. Believe it or not, I can actually utilise some control over what I do. Now, where do we head next, Maker? Down there?"

Maker turned to look at the black pit, its edges jagged like broken teeth where Fighter had blasted the stones away. "Yes," she confirmed. "We go down there."

As they approached the opening, Maker's body began to glow pink with power, illuminating the remains of an almost destroyed staircase. She glanced at Fighter and Healer. "Looks like we'll have to jump. I'll go first."

Fighter grabbed her arm. "Are you sure about that? You're the only one who knows what you're doing here. If there's anything down there…"

"There's nothing dangerous down there," Maker reassured her.

"How do you know?"

"I just do."

Before Fighter could say anything else, Maker launched herself into the opening, easily controlling the air around her to fly down the broken spiral stairs, punching her way through debris when she had to. Her mind gave her glimpses of what must have happened in that other past when Pluto had come here to save the Crystal. She could see Pluto descending down the stairs, her star seed glowing; she could feel Pluto feeling her, but not the her of this reality – following the Maker of another time, who had come here and found the Crystal but failed to restore it, leading to the end of the world.

All of these memories Pluto had given to Maker at the Doors, and even a little of her power; just as some of Maker's power now flowed through the magic of the Doors.

Reaching the bottom safely and landing lightly on her feet, Maker spoke into her microphone. "Fighter, Healer, I've reached the bottom of the chamber. It's safe to follow me, but be careful on the stairs – rock falls have blocked the passage in some places.

"Roger," came Fighter's reply. "We'll see you soon."

It didn't take Maker long to find the almost hidden entrance to the final chamber where she knew the Crystal waited, but she didn't want to enter without Fighter and Healer at her side. Rifling through Pluto's memories, she tried to see what had happened in the chamber last time, but those events seemed to be curiously obscured. Maker caught a glimpse of red hair that surely couldn't belong to Princess Kakyuu; she saw the Crystal glowing and the chamber filled with light; she felt the heaviness of Pluto's heart as that other person in the chamber asked her to do something she couldn't.

Something more than restoring Kinmoku's future?

Maker concentrated harder, but the memories slipped out of her grasp like smoke. All that remained was a feeling of pain in her heart, and she couldn't even say whether it belonged to Pluto or herself.

She pushed the feeling away as Fighter and Healer landed at the bottom of the broken staircase.

"This way," Maker said to them, taking them through the narrow opening into the final chamber. This was nothing like Pluto's memory. The chamber was a sad forgotten place, dark and dusty, all the magic leeched out of it over the years.

Healer drew in a sharp breath as she caught sight of the pedestal in the centre of the room, and what rested upon it. "Is that the Crystal?" she asked in a whisper.

With a soft curse, Fighter added, "so it is broken after all."

"It's okay," said Maker, giving her friends a reassuring smile. "I know what to do. We won't return a broken Crystal to our world. Its beauty will shine once again."

Approaching the pedestal, Maker gently picked up the Crystal. As she did so, she caught yet another glimpse of that future Pluto had seen where Kinmoku hadn't been saved. Maker saw her world ending in fire, her friends and her princess lying dead around her; felt her own body riddled with injury. Through a haze of pain she saw the tall stately form of Pluto approaching her, and thought she must be hallucinating until Pluto knelt down and touched her, eyes filled with guilt and hopelessness as she watched Maker draw in her final dying breaths. 

 _You didn't tell me that, Setsuna_ , Maker whispered in her own mind. _You didn't tell me you were actually there at the moment of Kinmoku's destruction. At the moment of my death_. Was that part of what had prompted Pluto to act as she did? To go back in time to this very place, to change things so that the end never came?

Maker could feel the Crystal's shattered core as she ran her fingers over its faceted surface; its sadness at the knowledge of its own broken state and what that meant for the planet it loved. She could feel its longing to be whole again, to be reunited with its other half and bring life instead of death to the future.

In that other reality, Maker had never found a way to fix the Crystal. She hadn't been able to reach it. Thinking back over the last few months, she thought she probably knew why. She remembered her conviction that she and Fighter and Healer weren't going to find the Crystal, and the conversation with Neptune where she'd discussed her fears of tainting the mission with her faulty powers. She remembered telling Pluto how fighting for Kinmoku wasn't enough for her anymore; that she couldn't forgive her world for condemning her dead lover. She remembered feeling so useless and unwanted after Pluto had left, and deeply regretting opening her heart for the first time in so many years.

Maker knew that in that other future, she'd done her duty. She'd died with her planet alongside Fighter and Healer and Princess Kakyuu, just as she'd told Pluto she might have to do, but had that truly been all she could do? Perhaps in that time she couldn't do any better, with a newly broken heart and the conviction her powers could never be enough to change anything.

And perhaps Pluto had realised that Maker's despair was part of why the Crystal couldn't be saved. Perhaps that was part of the reason why she'd decided to change both their destinies.

Pluto, who always still loved the world, even when the world forgot she existed. Who'd loved Maker across the space-time continuum even when she thought she shouldn't. She'd found room in her heart for both, and she'd acted on the feelings she had for Maker. She'd saved Maker's world, and even when that didn't work, even when it nearly cost the Earth, she'd still trusted Maker enough to leave her with the tools she needed to prevent her own future from ending.

Inside of Maker, lived the power of possibility. Because of that, she'd been able to help Setsuna break free from the prison at the Doors, and Setsuna had been able to do what she most wanted – to prevent the destruction of the world she'd spent long Millennia watching over. And Setsuna knew, she'd shown Maker, that she could use that power to save her own world too.

Maker would honour her power. She'd carry it with her into the future and use it to create new revolutions. And maybe one day, if the universe changed enough, it would become the kind of place Setsuna could inhabit again, without the burden of the Silver Millennium hanging over her head.

"Maker!" she heard Healer gasp.

Though she wasn't sure when it had happened, Maker had closed her eyes, and as she opened them again, she saw the Crystal glowing with a soft mauve light, exactly like she'd read about in the ancient texts from when the Crystal was whole. In almost the same instant, she realised she was exhausted. It had taken nearly everything she had to restore the Crystal, but she tried to hide that from Healer and Fighter as she smiled.

"I told you I knew what to do. Let's get out of here."

The Starlights became tense and silent as they flew back up to the surface. If Uranus and Neptune were going to make a move, they'd do so as soon as they saw the Crystal. Maker's stomach was churning with nerves; the plan that had seemed doable back in Tokyo was becoming more and more distasteful to her the closer the time came when they might have to put it into action. Besides which, her reserves of power were almost gone. If it came down to a battle – If Fighter and Healer needed her – If she found herself incapable – Despite the heat of the sun, Maker shivered, and felt an evil premonition of death drawing near.

Uranus and Neptune were waiting for them in the ruins. Their eyes were obviously drawn to the restored Crystal, but they didn't launch immediately into attack, giving Maker hope that the disaster she could feel hovering over all of them might yet be avoided, if she could only think of the right thing to say.

Neptune was the first to speak, sounding half-happy at the Starlights' success and half-anxious because of what it might mean. "You've found a way to restore the Crystal."

Maker moved forward slightly. "Yes, we've restored it," she agreed. "We've nearly finished our mission." She kept her voice soft, and felt the warmth of the Crystal pulsing through her hands. The essence of her planet. The essence of life. "I know you're both worried about what Pluto said at the Doors. We knew you would be. We knew you'd followed us here. Pluto…She knew as well how you'd feel. That's why…She visited me after she died. She said she'd realised that the source of evil attacking the Earth didn't arise because she'd saved Kinmoku. She wanted me to tell you both planets can survive. We can both have a future."

"Why would she come to you and not us?" said Uranus.

That wasn't the answer Maker had expected. She'd thought they wouldn't believe her, that they'd think it ridiculous she was claiming Pluto had come to her. But perhaps this wasn't the first time Pluto had done something like this. After all, it wasn't the first time she'd died.

The tone of Uranus's voice was hurt, though she perhaps didn't realise it showed. Her question made Star Maker herself wonder why Pluto hadn't gone to Neptune and Uranus too, though she hadn't thought of it before. Surely that would have been simpler?

"I don't know," Maker said in reply. "There were a lot of questions Pluto didn't answer, even when I asked. But there was a story she wanted me to tell you – something I couldn't know any other way – so that you'd know it was really her."

On her own planet, Maker was a poet, a storyteller. She knew how to enthral an audience with words, how to win them over, and she used every skill she had now as she re-told the story Pluto had told to her. She knew Uranus and Neptune weren't left unaffected by the telling. Tears were sparkling in Neptune's eyes, and Uranus was looking off to the side, her eyes shadowed by her cowlicks, her hand balled into a fist and shaking with tension.

"There must be something else you're not telling us," said Uranus, suddenly pinning Maker with a suspicious look. Whatever emotions she'd been feeling, she'd pushed them down already, and her eyes were cloudy with distrust and anger.

"What do you mean, there must be something we're not telling you?"

"If Pluto—" Uranus's voice nearly broke. "If Pluto really came to you, why did the three of you sneak off here by yourselves? Why not come and talk to us? Do you distrust us that much? Or is there something else you know that would make us think the Crystal is a danger?"

"Why the hell _would_ we trust you to listen?" Healer broke in. "You're not listening now, are you?"

"Healer!" Maker admonished. She turned and frowned at her briefly. Healer didn't let up.

"Come on, Maker, this is ridiculous. After what Pluto said at the Doors, you and Fighter still helped Sailor Moon and everyone else fight those monsters at the shrine, despite not knowing whether saving the Earth would doom Kinmoku. I saved Uranus's life and came damn near losing my own doing it. If doing all that isn't enough to make them think we're ever telling the truth about anything, then it's inevitable we're going to be enemies. We might as well—"

"Healer," said Fighter sharply. "It hasn't come to that yet." She gave Neptune a thoughtful look. "Well Neptune, now that the Crystal is here, can you feel any danger? Surely you should be able to, if there's really a problem here."

"I can't feel anything," Neptune admitted, her expression troubled. "But that story, Maker – How can Uranus and I know Pluto didn't tell it to you when she was alive?"

Maker gave a bittersweet smile. "Because Pluto wouldn't have told me a story like that before. She never opened up to me enough. I think you know that."

Neptune inclined her head in acknowledgement of the truth of Maker's statement, and Maker got the feeling she'd asked primarily because she wanted to know how Maker would answer.

"Uranus," said Neptune, glancing at her partner, both word and look clearly saying, _we need to rethink what we're going to do_.

Uranus did not look happy. "Neptune, there's too much risk."

"Do you doubt what Pluto said? Or do you think Maker is lying?"

"I think there's a lot here we still don't know. How did Pluto die and what killed her? Why would she only go back to Maker and not us?"

"Maybe she couldn't come back to us," said Neptune. "But everything Maker said – It sounds true to me."

"It might be, but I don't think it's all Pluto told her," Uranus replied with conviction. "We still don't understand what happened and why the Earth went into turmoil. You can't tell me that Pluto wouldn't find a way to tell us something about that, if she could." Turning her attention to Maker, she said, "Well? Doesn't that sound right? What else did Pluto say to you?"

Racking her brains, Maker could only think of one thing. "All Pluto said was that the enemy was an old, powerful one your Princess had fought before."

Uranus and Neptune both started at that, in a way that suggested they recognised something in Maker's words. Since it seemed to be an opening, Maker was struggling to think of what else she could add to further her case, when Neptune jumped in with an observation rather too astute.

"So what is the plan here, Maker? I think you have told us everything you can about Pluto, but there's still something the three of you are keeping back. What if Uranus and I do fight you? You lose the Crystal, you lose your world. The three of you must have a strategy to prevent that from happening."

Without having to look, Maker knew Healer was bristling. She was probably about to burst out with an angry comment about how the last thing they were going to do was share any of their plans. Before she could, Maker said quickly, "you're right. We do have a plan."

A plan that she certainly wasn't supposed to tell her opponents about. Maker broke off, but took up again before she could change her mind. Neptune was asking about the plan, but she was also asking more than that. _What_ exactly she was asking, Maker didn't know, but there was something niggling about this in the back of Maker's mind, something familiar she couldn't place.

"The plan is – if it comes to a fight, I'm supposed to leave while Fighter and Healer stay here to stop you two from following me. Only we have an advantage you don't know about. The energy Healer gave to Uranus? There's a window in which she can take it back. All she has to do is get the chance to press her Star Yell against the place where the wound was."

Ignoring Fighter's and Healer's attempts to shut her up, Maker continued. "Most healers can't do that, and even the ones who can aren't supposed to. It's considered a base perversion of power. It's forbidden to do it. The danger of it becoming something that is used to control and abuse is considered too great. We'll all be punished if we let Healer do it, but that's not the point. Healer is far from being a typical example of a healer on our planet, but this…It's against everything she _is_? Do you understand? If she has to do this, she might never recover from it. Killing an opponent in battle is one thing. Killing someone by reversing a healing…Is the act of an unforgivable murderer on my planet.

"I know—" Perhaps it was because she was so tired, but Maker nearly wanted to laugh. "I know asking for sympathy for the person who's thinking of killing you isn't really the winning strategy here. And believe me, Healer would never ask it for herself. But I don't want that for her. Healer is family to me the way Pluto was to you. And…For a while…Uranus, Neptune, I thought we were starting to become friends. There's so much on the verge of being destroyed right now."

Maker knew the others could feel it too. The spectre of blood and violence and battles that would rage long after they were gone. She knew she'd made a dangerous choice here – Telling Neptune someone intended harm to Uranus was all but sounding a trumpet of war, and Maker could see Neptune was furious, that she'd half decided to end all of them already. Fighter had instinctively pushed Healer behind her, prepared to take the brunt of Neptune's attack, but Uranus, who had remained inscrutable this whole time, touched Neptune's hand and made her pause.

Some silent communication passed between the two of them that Maker could only guess at. She thought Uranus might have been asking Neptune what else could be expected, given the circumstances. Given what was on the line.

"We know," said Maker. "We know if either of you dies, whoever survives will hunt us down and kill us. But what does that matter, if we save the Crystal? Without it, we're doomed anyway, and so is everyone on our planet. Uranus is faster than me, but if Fighter and Healer are keeping her down here, she won't be able to follow me. And what would you do, Neptune? You don't know the way to Kinmoku. You don't know all the shortcuts like I do. Your Mirror would probably show you, but could you leave Uranus behind? She's a powerful fighter, but two against one? When one of her opponents only has to touch her to do serious harm?

"If we fight, none of us will live to see this place rise again. You'll never see the peace of the future. I'll never see my planet whole. Pluto won't have anything to come back to except the graves of the people she once loved. And none of it is necessary. At the Doors, it was Pluto's guilt that was talking. She thought because she'd dared to go and fall in love instead of subsuming herself utterly to her duty, she'd caused the end of the world. She was locked up in a cage and too scared to be. But she learned. She tried. She fought to ensure everyone's future. Is all of that going to go to waste?" Looking around, she demanded again, "Is it?"

Uranus shifted her posture and threw Neptune a glance. "We can't fight them now. You were right, Neptune. There's nothing to worry about here."

Neptune gave Fighter and Healer a cold stare. The look she gave Maker was only slightly warmer, but still, she agreed, "no, we can't fight them. I think we know what caused all the trouble now."

"Mmm. Let's go."

Sparing the Starlights no further attention, the two turned and sauntered away as casually as if they'd been out at a fashionable bar in Tokyo.

"That's it?" said Fighter, glancing between Maker and the two retreating Outer Senshi in confusion. "We can go?"

"Yes Fighter," said Maker, tension oozing out of her while her head started to pound with the heat. "I think we can go."

"Did I miss something, Maker? I don't get what's happening here."

There was a hazy image in Maker's mind of the chamber under Babylon as it had been in the past, filled with light, and she could hear a voice whispering. She knew it wasn't Kakyuu, but she felt herself responding as she would to her Princess's voice, and she guessed this must be the red-haired figure she'd caught a glimpse of, the one Pluto had spoken to.

 _The two Crystals that protect our planet are very powerful. But sometime in the future, if they remain as they are, the very goodness of their energy is going to attract something powerful and evil_ … _An Enemy … A deep irrational force of hatred that will want nothing more than to see us destroy ourselves, or each other…_

"The enemy Pluto fought—" Maker began.

They all started as Neptune turned back and held up a hand to silence her. "That enemy probably wants to destroy all of us," Neptune said. Her eyes grew sad. "Without Pluto here to tell us in person, we can't be completely sure the Crystal safe. But we know what the outcome will be if we fight. None of us will be here to protect our worlds from the enemies that matter. Healer." There was no mistaking the frost in her tone. "Uranus and I don't owe you anymore. We've repaid the debt by leaving you the Crystal. Now, I suggest all of you think about going back to your planet. You don't need to be on Earth any longer."

"So rude," Healer muttered, but subsided as Fighter shot her a silencing look.

Uranus and Neptune disappeared into the heat-shimmered sands of the distance. Fighter let out a breath and visibly relaxed. "Well thank fuck for that. Let's get out of here before they change their minds."

"Before we set off for Kinmoku, we should go back to Tokyo and say goodbye to Sailor Moon and the others."

Fighter and Healer exchanged sceptical looks. "Are you serious, Maker?" asked Fighter. "We just narrowly avoided a bloodbath. Let's not push our luck."

"Uranus and Neptune won't do anything. And I want to say goodbye to Usagi."

"Hmm." Fighter grew thoughtful. "Well, it would mean I could pick up my suits."

"Your suits?" said Healer, sounding unimpressed.

"I spent a fortune on those suits. Since we're not going to be bloody corpses today after all they can come back to Kinmoku with me."

"And we should maybe tell the landlord we're leaving," Maker added.

"Urgh. We'll probably have to pay the whole month's rent. What a pain."

"Well, it's better than not having to pay it because we're dead," said Healer. "And hey Maker – I'm glad what you did worked and everything, but…Did you really have to tell Uranus and Neptune our whole plan, including all that stuff about me? You were right in what you said. If I'd really had to do it, there's no way I would have let on—"

"Yeah, we know," said Fighter, slinging an arm around her shoulders. "But be glad Maker found a way that meant you didn't have to. Though honestly, Maker, I have no idea _what_ you did, or why it worked. And I still don't get what the 'enemy' stuff was about either. Did that make sense to you?"

"Maybe," said Maker, turning to look at the ruins of Babylon. The place that Pluto had once told her could never be reached. In the end, she and Pluto, they'd both made it here, but not together. That had only been an unfulfilled fantasy, and it hurt Maker to let it go, but she knew it would hurt her more if she held onto it. She'd done enough of that already. No, she decided; she'd carry on, searching for her own Babylon, for her own reason to be, and learn to love anew the world she served.

"I'll explain it on the way home," she said, looking back to her friends. "For now, let's leave this place to dream in the desert, until it's time for it to be reborn."


	18. Chapter 18

In Tokyo, Usagi was standing in the shelter of Hikawa Shrine's verandah and watching the rain fall while the tension that had held her rigid for the past half hour or so gradually seeped out of her body.

"Thank God," she murmured.

She turned as she heard Rei calling to her.

"Usagi! Usagi – What are you doing out here?"

"Nothing," Usagi said, as Rei walked out to join her.

"Nothing? You've been out here for ages. Come inside where it's dry. I swear, sometimes you still have no sense at all."

Usagi just answered with a smile, and would have followed Rei back inside, but they both felt a disturbance in the air as three figures landed just beyond the Shrine's shelter.

"Fighter! Healer! Maker!"

Usagi looked at each in turn as she spoke their names, seeing in their eyes the same warm feelings filling her own heart.

Fighter smiled up at her, raindrops falling from the tips of her hair. "We don't have much time, but we wanted to say goodbye. We've found what we need to, and we're going home."

"Wait!" said Usagi. "Let me get the others—"

"That's okay," said Fighter. She threw a look over her shoulder, and Usagi became aware of what she saw, the shadows of Uranus and Neptune, lurking under one of the Shrine's trees. "We can't really linger. But…I'm glad I got to see you again, Usagi. And I'm sorry about Setsuna. I'm sorry we couldn't do more."

Usagi had hoped she wouldn't cry, but at the mention of Setsuna's name, at the regret she heard in Fighter's voice, she couldn't stop the tears from welling up. "You did more than enough," she insisted. "You helped to save us. And Maker, I wish—"

Maker gave Usagi a gentle look, as if she was the one in need of comfort. "I don't think Setsuna would have any regrets, Usagi. You shouldn't either. I know you would have saved her if you could. Take care, okay? Look after everyone."

Something in Maker's voice made Usagi think she especially meant Uranus and Neptune. "Of course I will," she promised.

"She's still such a crybaby," said Healer, though there was no malice in her words. She was the only one to break ranks, lightly running up the stairs of the Shrine to plant a kiss on Usagi's forehead.

"Be strong," she reminded her, stroking her gloved hand through the silken hair of one of Usagi's pigtails. "You still have a lot to fight for. As do we."

"I know," Usagi whispered to her.

Healer gifted Usagi with a rare sweet smile before running back down the stairs, out into the rain where Fighter and Maker were waiting. A moment later Usagi heard Minako and Ami and Makoto coming out onto the verandah behind her, perhaps drawn by the feeling there was something happening.

But all they saw was the Starlights shooting off into the sky, making the rain sparkle for a moment in colours of blue and pink and green.

"They left just like that?" said Minako in an affronted voice. "Why? What happened about the Crystal? Did they find it?"

"I didn't see it," said Rei.

"Don't worry," said Usagi. "They found it." She looked out into the rain again, towards where her two distant soldiers still lurked. "Haruka? Michiru?"

She knew they'd come if she called for them, and they did, emerging from the shadow of the tree in their soaked civilian clothes. Usagi had no idea if they realised she knew much of what had happened in the desert, but she smiled at them anyway. "Thank you," she told them softly. "I would have come, but…I think my presence might have just made things worse."

Haruka and Michiru both let out exclamations of surprise, but Usagi didn't give them time to dwell further on the situation. She knew it was probably futile, but she said anyway, "Why don't you come and stay with us here at the Shrine for a while? Bring Hotaru and Chibiusa. None of you should be alone right now."

As Usagi had expected, her offer wasn't accepted. "We want to go home, Usagi," said Michiru. "We'll deal with things in our own way."

"Hey, wait a minute!" Minako called as Haruka and Michiru turned to walk away. "Taiki and Setsuna – Was there something there?"

Haruka and Michiru exchanged a glance, and then Haruka shrugged, as if to say it didn't matter any more. "Yes, they were lovers for a while," she confirmed. "Given how things turned out…I guess it wasn't meant to last."

Her voice fell away in a pained whisper. Tears pricked Usagi's eyes, but she didn't say anything, nor did she join in with the others as they discussed this new revelation. She just watched her soldiers walk away into the falling rain, and stubbornly refused to let the glow of hope die out in her heart.

* * *

"Is this rain ever going to stop?" Haruka wondered, collapsing onto the bed in her pyjamas.

Midnight had already come and gone. After seeing the Starlights off, Haruka and Michiru had spent the afternoon double and triple checking everywhere they could think of to make sure there were no disturbances, and then in the evening there'd been Hotaru and Chibiusa to take care of.

Worse, their civilian lives were already starting to crowd in again. Haruka had no idea whether Setsuna had intended this or not, but after she'd left for the Doors, her absence was smoothly covered up – as far as all of her colleagues seemed to think, she'd gotten some coveted research contract somewhere in America working on some top secret project – and they still thought that now, even though she was dead.

Haruka and Michiru couldn't even mourn for her properly. But then, Haruka remembered, it had been like that last time too, in the helicopter crash. And that had been worse. She and Michiru still hadn't properly known Setsuna back then, and they'd both carried the guilt of her death heavily.

"Move over," said Michiru, switching out the bedroom light and prodding Haruka as she joined her. "You're hogging the bed."

With a grunt, Haruka did as requested, still lying on top of her half of the bed as Michiru got under the covers. It took a few beats for her to find the energy to do the necessary work to get herself under the covers as well, mostly motivated by her growing need to touch Michiru and hold her tight.

"Strawberries," she commented sleepily, once Michiru was safely in her arms. "New shampoo?"

"I'm trying it," Michiru agreed. "But I told the store clerk I'd only keep using it if my girlfriend liked the scent. Except I don't think he understood what I meant, so I didn't succeed in shocking him near as much as I'd hoped."

"I do like it," said Haruka, inhaling the fruity scent.

"Maybe you should try it."

Haruka snorted. "I can't turn up to the track smelling like strawberries, or any other fruit for that matter. I'd be having to beat up misogynists even more than I do already."

"Haruka." The tone of Michiru's voice had changed, and Haruka felt a soft touch on her cheek. "Thank you. For today."

"For today?"

"For trusting me when I said we should wait. And for pulling me back when I lost my cool. I nearly…Well, I was very angry with Healer there for a moment."

"That's not something you need to thank me for. And…Even though it's weird I'm the one saying this…Try to see things from their perspective. Their world was at stake. Healer had a weapon that could give them an advantage. Of course they'd use it if it meant saving the Crystal. It was pretty gutsy of Maker to tell us. Once things started, no matter how they went, it would have been too late."

"And then I suppose Chaos would have taken all of us, the way it took Setsuna."

"But we're all still here because of her." Haruka kissed Michiru on the lips. "She didn't let it win."

"I miss her," said Michiru quietly.

"I know. Me too."

Michiru's breaths slowed and steadied as Haruka stroked her back. They were both still hurting with Setsuna's loss, but they had the comfort of each other. Any pain they had would always be tempered by that knowledge. How was Taiki faring? How would it be to find someone, and then lose her so soon? To face all that pain alone?

Haruka sent out a hope that was half a threat that Seiya and Yaten would look after her.

She fell asleep after Michiru did, but woke at some point in the night to find she'd rolled over and Michiru was now pressed to her back, her fingers almost shaking with tension as they restlessly stroked over Haruka's midsection, right where that monster had gotten her a few days before.

Turning over again onto her other shoulder, Haruka found, as she'd half-expected, that Michiru wasn't even awake. She soothed her as she moaned restlessly, sliding her fingers into Michiru's hair and pressing light kisses to her face until she relaxed, dropping back into an undisturbed sleep.

"You idiot," Haruka murmured to her. "Nothing's going to happen to me."

Michiru slept on peacefully. Haruka shook her head in fond exasperation and went back to sleep herself.

* * *

"Well I think I found something that's vaguely edible," Yaten announced, ducking her head to enter the narrow opening of the cave.

"Shh," Seiya cautioned her.

In Yaten's absence, it seemed that Seiya had managed to get a fire going, and by its light Yaten saw that Taiki had fallen asleep and was lying with her head pillowed on Seiya's thighs.

"She must have been exhausted," said Yaten, being sure to keep her voice low as she sat down.

Seiya nodded in agreement as she gently stroked Taiki's hair.

Initially after leaving Earth, the Starlights had planned to travel all the way to Kinmoku, but it had become obvious partway through that Taiki was struggling. Seiya had called a rest stop on an uninviting swamp planet, unfortunately the best on offer in the region, and Taiki's tiredness had obviously gotten the better of her in the short time it had taken Yaten to forage for some food.

"Here," said Yaten, giving Seiya a handful of berries. "This was the best I could find."

"Are these going to kill me?"

"They're safe to eat. No idea how they taste."

Seiya experimentally tried one and puckered her lips. "Sour."

"Hmm. Well, we wouldn't be in this predicament if someone hadn't left most of our emergency supplies behind to make room for suits."

"I didn't think we'd need any of that stuff! The way we travel, it doesn't take that long to get to Kinmoku. It's just that we've encountered some…Unforeseen circumstances."

"That's why they're called emergency supplies, Seiya. For emergencies that you don't see coming. Do you even understand what the word means?"

Yaten munched miserably on a few berries. She was sweaty and dirty, her hair was terrible, and the berries were sour and gritty and left a horrible taste in her mouth. Being a senshi truly was a hardship at times like these.

"I'm sorry," said Seiya, touching her hand to Yaten's knee. "I suppose I really shouldn't have brought those suits."

Yaten could tell she meant the apology. With a sigh, she leaned up against Seiya. "Well, it can't be helped now. And at least Taiki is getting some rest. She must have used up a lot of energy restoring the Crystal to be this tired. Do you think we should wake her up so she can eat something?"

"Not when all we have is those awful berries. Are you sure there was nothing better out there?"

"There was some kind of slimy plant that was supposedly safe, but it could move on its own. I really didn't want to risk it."

"Then I guess we might as well just go to sleep for the night. Taiki should be fine by tomorrow, I think."

"Yeah," agreed Yaten. "And Seiya?"  
  
"Mmm?"

"I know Taiki's asleep, but I think she needs us tonight."

"I know."

"And I'm not proposing weird sex threesomes before you go getting that idea again."

"I know."

"Sooo…Blankets?" Yaten queried, looking around.

"Um," said Seiya. "There's only one, and I already gave it to Taiki."

Yaten closed her eyes in horror. "This just gets worse and worse."

"You're a warrior built to survive the harshest conditions possible. Sleeping on a rock floor with no blanket for one night isn't going to kill you."

Seiya's unsympathetic attitude was, Yaten felt, entirely uncalled for, especially since this situation was her fault.

Meanwhile, Seiya had eased out from under Taiki and given her one of their packs as a makeshift pillow. It seemed pretty soft, so Yaten assumed it had some of the suits in it. Taiki turned over so her back was to the fire, but she didn't wake up.

"Well I'm sleeping next to Taiki," Yaten decided. " _You_ can be furthest from the fire, Seiya, and if you get cold it's your own fault for leaving our supplies behind."

With that said, Yaten lay down and stretched out next to Taiki, settling an arm around her waist. Seiya gave what might have been a soft sniff of amusement and lay down on Yaten's other side.

"I won't be cold with you to keep me warm," she said softly.

And indeed, Seiya was warmer than she had any right to be in the circumstances. She threw an arm out that reached over Yaten and to Taiki as well. Though neither of them acknowledged it, Yaten knew that they were both still keeping the pact they'd made that morning, when Yaten had asked Seiya to hold her tonight.

It was nice they were both still alive to keep it.

* * *

"Princess Kakyuu…We return to you the Sacred Crystal. Please accept our humblest apologies for the delay in completing our Mission."

Kneeling before her Princess with Fighter and Healer likewise kneeling behind her, Star Maker bowed her head and offered the Crystal up in her hands, while an increasing crowd gathered on the grassy knoll outside the temple above the city.

She looked up as she felt the warm pressure of Kakyuu's hand on her shoulder.

"Thank you," Kakyuu whispered, and Maker could see she was almost moved to tears despite her usually calm demeanour. "Maker…Healer…Fighter…Thank you." She smiled as she encouraged them to rise, still leaving the Crystal in Maker's hands. "One of you should return this to its rightful place."

Maker shook her head. "You should do it, Princess. That is what everyone needs to see."

Kakyuu looked sombre, perhaps even a little sorrowful, but she eventually nodded her head in agreement and took the Crystal, leading the way into the temple.

As the Crystal was placed back on its rightful pedestal, Maker had a strange feeling of déjà vu. The beams of light, the spirals of intertwined pink and mauve energy, this singing in her heart – she'd felt all of it before. She remembered Pluto kissing her, out there on the grassy knoll, saying that she loved her, touching her so gently, and with such sadness in her eyes.

And she saw again that other future, the one where Kinmoku crumbled and Kakyuu and Fighter and Healer and herself were all lying here dead, and she was glad, glad and thankful that would never come to pass now. That she hadn't failed her princess and her planet and the people she loved. That she'd found a future worth living for, even if it meant living with no one at her side.

* * *

Two weeks after seeing the Starlights off, Haruka and Michiru got a message from Taiki.

_We restored the Crystal. Kinmoku is fine. And the Seers tell us the Earth is still turning. I hope…I hope Setsuna comes back to you one day. Your world couldn't ask for a better protector._

_Taiki._

"Poor Taiki," said Michiru, as Haruka finished reading the letter aloud. "She sounds like she thinks that if Setsuna ever does return, it won't be for her."

"Maybe Taiki wouldn't want Setsuna back," Haruka speculated. "I know – We both know – How Setsuna felt about her, but she didn't have a very good way of showing it."

The weather had improved since the Starlights' departure. The days had been bright and fresh, and tonight, there was just enough chill in the early evening air for Michiru to enjoy snuggling close to Haruka on the love seat on the back patio of the house.

Chibiusa and Hotaru had already gone back to the thirtieth century, so it was just the two of them now. Michiru sighed as she gazed up at the sickle moon and the stars just starting to wink in the darkening sky.

"Why do I feel like things could have turned out so differently?" she said softly.

"Well, they still might I suppose," said Haruka, taking Michiru's hand in her own. "You never know with Setsuna. But until then…At least you still have me?"

Michiru smiled at her. "I do," she agreed, "and that is something I would never want to change, no matter how many times those ruins in the desert rise and fall into dust again."

"Yeah," Haruka said, drawing Michiru closer. "I'd never change it either."

* * *

The small bunch of fire-orange sweet olive flowers created a splash of vibrant colour against the forbidding paleness of the Doors. Taiki had managed to find her way back here, but she knew she wouldn't be able to again. Setsuna's power was seeping away from her like an outgoing tide, and its loss was hurting though she could no more stop it than she could the sea.

"I guess you're really not here, just like Chibiusa and Hotaru said." She placed her hand against the Doors' smooth, polished surface. "On my world, when someone dies, we always bury them with sweet olive flowers. The trees are everywhere on Kinmoku – The scent of the sweet olive is the scent of our lives. We give sweet olive to the dead so they can carry the fragrance with them into the afterlife, and not forget…And so that, if they ever come back to be reborn, the scent of the flowers will lead them home."

Taiki hugged herself in the chill silence. She couldn't imagine spending eternity in a place like this. She couldn't imagine what it must have been like to serve a queen who would knowingly condemn one of her soldiers to that fate.

"I hope you're free, Setsuna," she whispered. Her voice almost broke on the final word. "Goodbye."

And she let herself cry one more time in her room at the palace that night, but she didn't let it happen again. She took up her pen and wrote instead – She wrote the story of a mythical city of dreams that could only be reached by crossing time and space with the flickering light of a candle, always in danger of going out.


	19. Chapter 19

The vortex was growing. Saturn knew there was something terrible on the other side, that it wouldn't be much longer before it broke through. She knew she didn't have any choice on what she had to do here, but still she hesitated.

She stood with her glaive pointed at the growing black hole while tears streamed down her face, knowing she had to step through, knowing no one else had the power to stop this, and yet clinging to the life she'd come to hold so dear. Maybe this was why the old Queen had never wanted her to have a life in the previous Silver Millennium. So she wouldn't have anything to lose when the time came.

"Serenity, I'm sorry," Saturn whispered, as she took what she intended to be the first of her final steps.

She halted as a hand restrained her. A familiar hand clad in a familiar elbow-length white glove with black banding.

"P-Pluto?" Saturn stammered, turning to stare at the figure now beside her who hadn't been there a moment before.

It _was_ Pluto. She smiled, the expression in her eyes warming Saturn's heart.

"There'll be no sacrifices today, Saturn," Pluto said, her lovely voice serious and solemn. "I'll not allow it."

"Pluto." There were no further words Saturn could get out. She clung to Pluto tightly and cried, feeling Pluto gather her up, and it didn't matter that Saturn was a woman now and no longer a little girl. She wanted to be comforted, she wanted to be saved, she wanted Pluto to keep doing exactly as she was and stroke her hair and whisper to her that everything was all right because she was here now and she wasn't going away again.

"How?" Saturn finally whispered, drawing back to look at her adoptive mother.

"Long story," said Pluto, and didn't say more. Her eyes became determined as she looked towards the vortex. "I need to destroy that."

"Can you?" asked Saturn.

Pluto nodded. "I can't destroy what's on the other side, but I can close the breach. That will be enough."

She raised her staff, and Saturn stood back to give her room.

"Chronos Typhoon!" Pluto yelled, sending a massive wave of energy towards the slowly expanding vortex.

There was a bright explosion and a deep boom that Saturn felt in the depths of her bones. When the scene cleared, the space around them was empty. The vortex was gone.

Pluto touched Saturn lightly on the shoulder. "You're okay?"

Saturn smiled at her. "Of course, Setsuna-mama. Are you really back? You're here to stay?"

"Yes, I'm staying."

"Then come back to the palace with me. You can see Serenity and Neo-Queen Serenity and everyone else."

"I will come, soon. But first, I need to go back to Haruka and Michiru. The ones I left behind after the battle at the shrine."

"They were really hurt, Setsuna-mama."

"I know. That's why I need to go back to them. To try and make things right." Pluto hugged Saturn again, tightly. "Tell the others I'm back," she whispered. "And tell them…I'm happy to be here."

"I will," Saturn promised, still holding on.

* * *

_Tokyo, September 5, 2004_

There were lights on in the house, so someone was home. Setsuna approached hesitantly, wondering what she should do. Knock on the door? Just walk in? It was easier, she thought wryly, to stage a dramatic reappearance mid-battle.

She decided she'd better knock. Not least because, thinking about it, she didn't have her house keys with her, and had no idea where they were.

After rapping on the door, she waited. There was movement within the house and the sound of footsteps coming up the hall. Setsuna tensed, and tried to paste a smile on her face.

It was Michiru who opened the door. She stared at Setsuna with a blank look, like she couldn't take in what she was seeing.

"Michiru," Setsuna started to say, but she'd barely finished getting her name out before Haruka appeared, hair still damp, perhaps from a shower.

"Who is it, Michiru?" Haruka asked, but she stopped dead when she saw Setsuna standing on the doorstep.

"It's me," said Setsuna. "I'm…Back, I guess."

As if Setsuna's words had broken the spell locking Michiru into immobility, she catapulted forward to give Setsuna what was quite possibly the tightest hug of her very long existence. It was only then Setsuna relaxed, admitting to herself how afraid she'd been that she wouldn't receive a kind welcome from the friends she'd abandoned. Haruka moved forward to wrap her arms around both of them, saying gruffly, "come in. Don't stand on the doorstep."

As soon as Setsuna stepped in, she found herself eagerly examining every little detail of her old home, the memories flooding back to her of all the years she'd spent here together with Michiru and Haruka and Hotaru. Not much had changed in the six months she'd been gone. Except there were even more pictures that had been added to the wall of photos; more ones, she noted, of her.

Haruka disappeared momentarily as Michiru and Setsuna went into the lounge, and came back a short time later with a bottle of red wine and three glasses.

"I think we're all going to need this," she said, deftly prying the cork out and pouring generous helpings for all of them.

Michiru grabbed hers immediately, took a rather too hasty gulp, and nearly ended up choking. Looking alarmed, Haruka thumped Michiru on the back as she coughed for a minute or two, until she drew in a shaky breath and said, "I'm okay, Haruka."

Haruka glanced across at Setsuna with a momentarily stormy expression in her eyes, as if laying responsibility for the incident at Setsuna's feet.

"Setsuna," said Haruka, "Setsuna— _What the hell?_ "

The frustrated outburst seemed to be for everything from Setsuna's disappearance, to her death, to her sudden reappearance, to her unsettling Michiru enough that she nearly choked on her over-large mouthful of wine. The look Haruka cast at her demanded an explanation for all of it, and it struck Setsuna as so funny she couldn't help laughing. But soon enough her mirth turned to tears, and all she could do was cover her face and weep on the couch as everything she'd gone through caught up with her all at once.

"Oh shit," she heard Haruka say, sounding horrified. "Setsuna, I didn't mean to make you cry!"

There was a flurry of movement as Haruka came to sit beside her, placing an arm around Setsuna's shoulders.

Setsuna did her best to get a grip on her emotions, giving Haruka a watery smile. "I'm not crying because of what you said. It's just…I missed both of you. God, I missed you so much."

She glanced from Haruka beside her to Michiru on the opposite couch. Such an inadequate way to try and describe the torment she'd inflicted upon herself when she went back to her old life at the Doors.

"Where were you?" Michiru whispered. "We thought you were dead."

"I was," said Setsuna. She sat up, forcing herself away from the comfort of Haruka's shoulder, then leaned forward, picked up her wine and took a sip. Haruka had been right. There was no way she could get through this without a good stiff drink. "You were right, Michiru. You and Haruka were both right. I shouldn't have left in the way that I did. It _did_ have bad consequences, for Earth and Kinmoku."

"Setsuna, I was angry and upset when I said that."

Setsuna shrugged. "Even so, you were right. When I left for the Doors, I really thought I could do what I'd done in every other lifetime. That I could just make myself forget. That I could give everything up. But this time, I didn't want to. I resented having to sacrifice myself for a future in which I wasn't allowed to exist. I spent so much time watching what might have been, seeing all the things I'd never get to have…It drove me mad but I couldn't stop it. I couldn't stop wanting."

Even as she spoke Setsuna could feel the ache of all those old dreams stirring, and hurting just as much because she knew there was as little chance of that future now as when she was at the Doors.

"I can't say for sure, but I think my inattention, my discontent, was what allowed the situation on Earth to come about. Or at least, it gave the Enemy an opportunity that may not have been there otherwise. And Kinmoku…When it fell, in that other reality…"

Trailing off, Setsuna tried to think of what she should say. The Princess she'd met in the chamber in ancient Babylon had wanted her help, but Setsuna had always gotten the feeling she'd wanted something different to what Setsuna had done that first time, when she'd taken the Crystal and delivered it herself.

She knew that in this reality, Taiki had found the power within herself to restore the Crystal, but previously, she hadn't. And why would she, when she'd needed that power so soon after Setsuna's betrayal. It would have been different, perhaps, if her belief in her world had been strong before, but Taiki had struggled there, and perhaps losing Setsuna had ended up reminding her too much of that other loss long ago, when she'd nearly wanted to stop being a senshi, when someone she cared about had stopped believing in her planet and been castigated harshly for it.

Giving Taiki the Crystal hadn't done anything to fix that. Looking back, Setsuna thought she'd probably chosen better the second time round, when she gave Taiki what she needed to find the strength within herself.

"I abandoned Taiki even though I knew she needed me," was what she settled on saying. "I shouldn't have done things that way. I shouldn't have abandoned the two of you either. I know I can't take away the hurt I caused, but I am sorry. I should have listened back then."

"You did make a mistake," Michiru agreed. "But…You made up for it, Setsuna. You saved the Earth. You even gave Taiki a message to make sure we wouldn't mistakenly attack the Starlights over the Crystal."

Despite herself, Setsuna smiled. "That worked? You understood?"

"Things got pretty tense, but yes, we understood."

"It was Chaos, wasn't it?" Haruka asked. "That was what behind everything that happened on Earth?" After Setsuna's nod, she continued, "But what I don't get is why you went through Taiki at all. Why not come and tell us yourself? Surely that would have been more effective."

"It wasn't like the other times, Haruka. I hadn't just lost my physical form and returned to the Doors. I was dead. I was supposed to be moving on. What was happening in the mortal realm was no longer supposed to be my concern. I wasn't supposed to interfere. Visiting Taiki was already a risk I shouldn't have taken, but I had to. I know what I did still wasn't enough to make things right with her, but I had to do it anyway. I had to do as much as I could."

Michiru frowned. "If you were dead, why didn't you reincarnate? How did you come back in the same form?"

_Because my particular circumstances give me certain advantages with things like that_ ; Setsuna nearly said, but didn't. Truthfully, she'd come back because being dead hadn't solved anything for her. Without her human existence, there was no way to work out the dilemma that plagued her, no way to figure out what her place in the world should be. Being dead had merely put the issue on hold, not provided a solution.

"Well…" She said hesitantly. "I suppose I didn't reincarnate because I haven't yet finished living my life in this form. I wasn't ready to leave this life behind. Besides, there was a situation I had to deal with. There was a rift in the future. It had to be closed. No one else could do it besides Saturn, and even then, she would have had to sacrifice herself. I wasn't about to let that happen."

"Is Saturn okay?" said Michiru, worry springing into her eyes.

"She's fine," Setsuna assured her.

Haruka took a deep drought of her wine before asking the next question. "So what happens now? Are you here to stay, or…"

The implication of the unfinished question hung in the air.

Setsuna swirled her wine a few times before answering. "You know, when the Earth got thrown into chaos, part of the reason why I was able to bring it back into alignment was because I drew on all the power I'd accumulated while I was at the Doors. I keep wondering…If there was another situation like that one day, what would I do? Would I still be able to access the power I needed if I was no longer living at the Doors? What if I couldn't? If I choose to live in this world, does it mean all of us will have a terrible price to pay? Does taking a future for myself mean the Earth can no longer have one? Even trying to win back the future for someone I loved nearly resulted in the destruction of this planet.

"Now that I'm back, the Doors will be my responsibility once more. And I wouldn't have it any other way. I still want to do my duty. I still want to protect this world. But…Even with all the questions I have, I know I can't do what I did before. I've changed too much, and it's no good pretending otherwise. It's not an excuse, or a justification, but that's why I didn't tell either of you before I left last time. Because my resolve was already wavering so much I was afraid you'd convince me not to go if you had the chance."

"Is that a really long-winded way of saying you're not going to run away again?" Haruka asked, seemingly with all seriousness.

Setsuna laughed. "Pretty much. Things have changed for all of us so much in this life. I always thought that…Those changes wouldn't become systemic for me, but they have. The old ways of doing things don't work anymore. I need to…I need to forge a new path. But I'm afraid of what the consequences might be, for me and the rest of the world."

"I don't know why," said Haruka, "But you seem to have this idea that you're the only one who has to take responsibility for the future of this world, but that isn't right. We're all here to watch over the world with you, Setsuna. To help shape the future and bring it into being. We're not helpless children you need to protect anymore. Not even Usagi. And I think the old Queen did her a disservice by assuming she'd never become capable enough to fight for her own future, or the future of this world."

It was strange to hear Haruka speak of Usagi with such respect, when once both she and Michiru had despised her.

Michiru shifted to sit on Setsuna's free side on the couch, and took her hand. With a smile she said, "No one is more dedicated to their duty than you, Setsuna. But that's not reason not to have your own life too. Yes, it's hard, it hurts, the distance between us and what's normal will never go away. But still…" Michiru's eyes strayed to Haruka. She probably didn't even realise she was doing it. "I'd never give this life up. What we have here – What we've built together—" She focused her gaze on Setsuna. "It's worth fighting for. Don't you think?"

Setsuna squeezed her hand. "I've always thought that, Michiru."

"Then you should let yourself change," said Haruka softly. "There was something wrong with the old Silver Millennium. That's why it ended. If we're to have any chance of reaching the new one, and having it be…What it was meant to be all along, we _need_ to change. If we do everything the same, we'll fail again."

Setsuna knew all of this was true. It had already been a foregone conclusion she would take this path from the moment she gained form again. She'd come back to this life precisely to do what she was doing now. The prospect looming before her was one of both terror and elation, giving her a glorious feeling of rebellion swelling in her chest.

She realised again how lucky she was to have Haruka and Michiru. They'd all been so suspicious and tentative of each other, in those long ago days of the Death Busters, but on some level, they must have all realised there was the potential for something special here, something all of them had been craving, something none of them had ever been permitted to have before.

"I know you're both right," Setsuna said, glancing at Haruka and Michiru with a smile. "Besides, I want to stay here. I'm so tired of being told this existence is not mine to have."

"Of course it's yours," said Haruka. "You were reborn into this world too. Who cares if you chose your civilian form instead of being born as a human? Michiru and I need you. It's hard, being the only two outer senshi. We need you to help us safeguard this world in the here and now. We've missed you."

"And we know," added Michiru, "We know the future isn't guaranteed. We know we might never get there. That's always the risk, and it never goes away. But we have a chance, Setsuna. Maybe the best one we'll ever get. We'd be…Honoured if you'd stay and fight with us."

"I will," Setsuna promised. She glanced up towards the second storey of the house. "My room – Is it—"

"We left it as it was," said Haruka quickly. "It's still yours. Are you tired?"

"A bit, but…I want to know everything that's been happening in Tokyo these last six months. Maybe…We could open another bottle of wine?"

Haruka smiled. "Sure thing. I'll go get one for us."

The three of them stayed up for a long time, talking, and it was easier than Setsuna expected to begin settling back into her old life, to feel the world reaching out and drawing her in. Just maybe she thought, maybe one day, she might reach Babylon after all.

* * *

The next two months passed quickly. Eventually, when Setsuna didn't bring the matter up, Michiru did ask her about Taiki, and after thrusting away an urge to cringe and avoid the subject, Setsuna just shrugged and said, "what can I do Michiru? I know I treated her terribly. If I did have any chance with her, it's long lost now. I sent her a message a while ago, telling her I was back – Not because I expected anything, but because…She had a right to know. I owed her that much, at least." Setsuna couldn't disguise the disappointment in her voice when she added, "I didn't hear back from her."

"You still have feelings for her then?"

The look Setsuna gave her was enough for Michiru to know. Setsuna tried not to dwell on it; there was no use getting lost in what might have been, but for a moment she covered her face as the regret, the bitterness of her own stupidity, rose like a high tide.

She felt Michiru place an arm around her shoulders, and gratefully taking the offer of comfort, Setsuna leaned into her. They stayed like that, sitting on the couch and staring at the TV that neither of them were really watching, until Haruka came home that night.

#

It was a raw day when Usagi asked to meet Setsuna in the park. Setsuna went not really knowing what to expect. Half the time when she was called out like this, she found herself asked to accompany her princess on snack-eating missions or visiting sideshow amusements. But today, it seemed Usagi just wanted to talk. She had a flask of tea with her, very good tea that Setsuna assumed either Mamoru or Rei had probably made up for her.

Usagi had grown exponentially in many, many ways, but food preparation was still not one of her strong suits.

Cupping the warm mug around her hands, Usagi blew on it gently, her breath mixing with the steam and pluming in the air. She glanced sidelong at Setsuna and smiled.

"I bet you wish you'd come back in time for summer instead of winter."

Setsuna smiled back. "Winter is a beautiful time too. Here, even if it's cold, people keep each other warm. It's not like…The cold at the Doors."

A memory of last winter floated through Setsuna's mind; Taiki's mouth hot against hers as they kissed that snowy night in the forest, her hands urging Setsuna on towards ecstasy.

She started as Usagi spoke, pulling her abruptly out of her thoughts.

"Seiya once told me that Kinmoku doesn't have a winter like ours. Their planet has a temperate climate all year round. Imagine that! A winter without snow. It's strange to think about."

Murmuring an agreement, Setsuna sipped her tea. Her heart had sped at the mention of Kinmoku, and she had to work extra hard to maintain an appearance of calm. She still had no idea what Usagi wanted, but she doubted mentioning the Starlights' planet was accidental.

Usagi frowned. "The truth is…I don't know what to do. I don't know what's right in this case."

"In what case, Princess?"

After glancing around at seemingly every piece of random scenery she could find with which to distract herself, Usagi finally ran out of trees and bushes and looked at Setsuna. "I got a message from Princess Kakyuu. She asked whether I would consider sending one of my soldiers to Kinmoku on a 'mission to foster diplomatic relations and increase the friendship between our two worlds'. But she was very specific I was only to send ONE soldier. And she isn't planning to send anyone to Earth. Not yet, anyway."

Her brows drew together in a frown. "What do you think, Setsuna? Is this—"

"I wouldn't read too much into it," Setsuna said, though she wasn't sure she believed her own words. "I believe the people of Kinmoku don't have a great deal to do with outsiders normally. There are few visitors to their planet. Sending more than one senshi might be perceived as a threat."

"Did Taiki tell you all that?" asked Usagi softly.

Setsuna looked off into the distance, unsettled by the mention of her former lover. "Yes, she did. But this…Is nothing to do with Taiki, Princess. I don't know what this is about, but I can assure you she isn't behind it."

After regarding Setsuna with a solemn gaze, Usagi nodded. "Well, whatever the reason…If I'm only supposed to send one soldier…You are the best choice. No, you'd be the best choice no matter what. That's obvious. But I'm not going to order you to go. If you want to take it, the mission is yours. If not…" Usagi shrugged. "Then I'll politely decline."

"That might not be the best idea. Finding friends and allies is actually…Well, it certainly wouldn't do us any harm. And I think we can trust Kakyuu and the people of Kinmoku."

"I think we can too. But I don't want to make you go if you don't want to." Usagi clasped Setsuna's hand for a moment, her fingers warm. "I'll let you consider it. Let me know in a few days what you want to do."

"Wait!" Setsuna said as Usagi collected up the flask and the mugs and rose to leave. "Can't I escort you anywhere?"

"It's okay. Rei and Minako are meeting me. I'll be fine." A flush covered Usagi's cheeks, and she quickly dipped her head to place a kiss on Setsuna's forehead. "Thank you for coming back," she whispered. "I missed you when you were gone."

With a final smile, she hurried away, and Setsuna tipped her face back and wondered what the hell she was going to do, her skin still tingling from Usagi's kiss.


	20. Chapter 20

Setsuna went. She didn't know why, or what she hoped to accomplish, but her heart burned fiercely with the desire to go and at least see Taiki's world. She'd told Haruka and Michiru she wouldn't go if they objected, and she'd meant it. They'd been abandoned enough by her, and she didn't want to do it to them again.

But of course they didn't object. Haruka even went so far as to lecture Setsuna on why she had no reason to feel she was being selfish by going – After all, this mission was at the behest of the Princess. Setsuna wasn't going for herself.

Flimsy reasoning at its best. Not that it mattered, perhaps. Because it was technically true, and even Setsuna, with all her restrictions, had to be allowed to serve her Princess as the Princess desired.

Kinmoku was as Setsuna remembered it on that brief journey she'd taken here in that other timeline. A fragrant planet with a warm climate, and lush fields and forests everywhere she looked.

Kakyuu received Setsuna warmly. Seiya and Yaten were polite in front of their Princess but made no attempt to hide their dislike and suspicion of Setsuna when Kakyuu wasn't around. Taiki she barely saw the first couple of weeks. Whether by chance or design, it transpired she was involved in some kind of training role with newly awakened senshi, and it occupied most of her time.

Just as Taiki had told Setsuna, the people of Kinmoku tended not to travel very far from their home planet, and generally preferred their own kind, going so far as to often regard outsiders as inferior by virtue of not being from Kinmoku. Setsuna experienced a few slights because of it, but probably fewer than was normal for a visitor.

Being Kakyuu's guest, she was mostly protected. Insulting the Princess's guest was the same as insulting the Princess herself, so not many were willing to venture the risk, and certainly not at a time when Kakyuu was likely to hear of it.

Finding the behaviour more curious than offensive, Setsuna wondered whether this distrust of outsiders had started because Kinmoku had the distinction of being an all-female planet – Perhaps they'd had trouble with other planets in the past because of it, and of necessity learned to be suspicious of anyone who wasn't of their own people.

Perhaps that was part of Kakyuu's reason for bringing Setsuna here. Maybe the narrowly avoided disaster with the Crystal had made her think it would be better to build up relationships with other planets so that there was more chance her people might have somewhere to go if another situation like that ever arose.

It was only a vague speculation, however. Setsuna really didn't have much idea at all of why Kakyuu had brought her here. Some kind of ulterior matchmaking motive was, she supposed, an outside possibility, but it seemed unlikely. Why would Kakyuu want Setsuna to have another chance with Taiki when she'd acted so badly the first time?

So Setsuna's speculations went on, and in the meantime, she met a lot of senshi, a lot of dignitaries, a lot of scholars of various kinds. She was taken on tours of the capital and its surrounds. She talked about Earth, and learned more of Kinmoku's history.

Even when Setsuna went so far as to ask directly, Kakyuu never gave her a solid answer about what she was supposed to be doing.

Apparently, though, whatever her purpose here was, it didn't include senshi duties.

Setsuna had been given a generous suite in a guest wing of the palace, and she started awake one night when she heard scuffing footsteps and a muffled groan in the corridor outside her room. Inching her door open, she saw Seiya and Taiki in their sailor uniforms. Seiya was sitting propped up against the wall, her face contorted with pain, while Taiki crouched beside her. One of Seiya's legs was stretched out in front of her, bent at an odd angle and clearly broken.

What on Earth were they doing here, of all places? If they were heading back to their own part of the palace, coming through the guest quarters was by no means a logical route to take. Setsuna didn't know where exactly Taiki and Seiya and Yaten were quartered, but she knew it was somewhere in the central part of the palace near Princess Kakyuu's chambers. Of course, Setsuna hadn't seen those parts of the palace and she hadn't tried, since she didn't think it would be looked upon kindly. But she did know that in order for Seiya and Taiki to be here, they must have come in through the separate entrance to the guest wing from wherever they'd been outside, and would have a very long walk to get to the inner entrance that would take them through to the main pubic section of the palace.

As Setsuna pushed her door open further, Seiya and Taiki caught sight of her.

"Oh great," Seiya muttered. "Just what we need. I knew we shouldn't have come this way."

"If there's an enemy, I can help," said Setsuna, ignoring Seiya's snark.

Before either of the Starlights could respond, they all heard footsteps running lightly up the corridor towards them, and Yaten soon came into view, transformed like the others.

She frowned when she saw Setsuna. "I don't know what you think you're doing, but we don't need you," she said bluntly, passing by her with deliberate flounce.

"What happened?" Seiya asked, obviously talking to Yaten.

"It's taken care of," said Yaten, kneeling down next to Seiya, on the side of her broken leg.

There was an awkward pause, that was obviously meant to be Setsuna's cue to leave. Remembering what Haruka and Michiru had told her, Setsuna guessed Yaten was planning to heal Seiya, but didn't want to do it in front of her.

She gave the Starlights a small formal bow. "I'm sorry for disturbing you," she murmured, deciding the only polite thing she could do was retreat to her room, since her presence was so clearly unwanted.

"Setsuna," said Taiki, rising to her feet.

Setsuna paused in her doorway.

Taiki's expression was stern, though not hostile. "It would cause trouble for our Princess if you were to transform and start fighting. Please don't."

"Okay. I won't."

"And please don't mention this to anyone. This was something that had to be dealt with…Discreetly."

"I won't speak of it," Setsuna assured her. "Goodnight."

After closing her bedroom door, Setsuna stood leaning against it for a long time, frowning in the dark.

* * *

Perhaps Taiki wouldn't welcome it, but Setsuna determined to try and speak to her after that strange incident in the corridor. Not about that night; Setsuna knew it wasn't her business and Taiki wouldn't want to talk to her about it, but about what had happened between them in the past.

Taiki was around the palace more frequently now, and Setsuna gathered from odd comments overheard that much of Taiki's time off-duty was spent not far from the palace in a large, unruly garden that was more akin to a forest. On this particular day, if indeed Taiki had gone there, Setsuna knew Seiya and Yaten wouldn't be with her – Apparently much of the court was quite horrified that they hadn't even bothered to leave their room.

Another thing Setsuna had learned along the way was that, though it wasn't forbidden, it was somewhat frowned upon for members of the same senshi team to get into relationships with each other. Setsuna hadn't been able to figure out the reason for it, but she assumed it might have something to do with the fact that most Senshi teams seemed to be comprised of three members. Perhaps the thinking was that having a couple within a team of three would mess up the working dynamic too much. And who knew? Maybe there had been those kinds of problems on occasion in the past, which was why it was discouraged now.

But as far as Seiya and Yaten and their not-leaving-the-bedroom went, Setsuna couldn't work out whether it was simply their being together that was the problem, or the lack of discretion they were showing in their relationship. She suspected the latter, and she also suspected that neither Seiya nor Yaten cared.

Either way, at least it meant that Setsuna had a chance of finding Taiki by herself this afternoon.

Setsuna did find her, eventually. Even on a planet with this many senshi, Taiki's energy was unique, and Setsuna could always feel the pull of her if she tried.

Taiki was in a grove of sweet olive trees, her back against a tree trunk, a book open on her knees. The grass beneath the trees was green and lush; before her was a perfect lake spanned by a small arched wooden bridge.

She looked up at the disturbance of Setsuna's approach, and Setsuna wished she could read what her emotions were.

"Setsuna," said Taiki, marking the page on her book and momentarily placing it down beside her on the grass without closing it. "I'm surprised you found me here. I make it a point to _not_ let people know this particular location is somewhere I like to come."

"I followed your energy," Setsuna admitted. "I didn't know how else I could get the chance to talk to you."

"You should know that's considered an impolite way to find someone here on Kinmoku, unless it's in a battle situation."

"In that case, I'm sorry." Setsuna fidgeted, wishing she had something to do with her hands. "I'll leave if I'm disturbing you."

Taiki blinked at her, eyes cool. "You can stay for a bit. I'll listen if you have something you want to say."

Setsuna crossed the small space between them and sat down next to Taiki, not too close, cross legged on the grass.

"I know it's late, but I owe you an apology," Setsuna began. "Back on Earth when we were…" She struggled to find an appropriate word. "When we were seeing each other, the way I treated you wasn't okay. Lying to you. Hurting you. Pursuing you when I'd already decided I couldn't stay on Earth. Disregarding your feelings for me. Acting like you didn't matter. The truth is, you did matter to me – So much that I didn't know how to handle it. I was struggling already with changes that were happening inside me, changes that meant I didn't want to give up my life on Earth to do my duty as I always had before. That was my problem, but you got caught up in it, and you got hurt because of it. I wish…I'd acted differently now, but I know it's not much good saying that. It doesn't change anything."

Taiki's hair was loose, and Setsuna wished she could reach out to tuck it behind her ear as she had that night at Usagi's party; the first night they'd spent together.

Catching Setsuna's look, Taiki's cheeks heated and she looked away. "Look Setsuna," she said, "I already know you're sorry. You already did what you could to make up for things back then. Showing me how to find the Crystal. Giving me knowledge of what happened in those other realities. Coming back to tell me how you felt. All of that meant a lot to me, and I'm not still angry at you. But looking back, I feel like we bonded over our loss and our sadness. I'm not sure there can be a future, with a start like that."

"What if I said I wanted to start again? To find out what else there can be?"

Taiki gave her a brief, sceptical smile. "And what about the Doors, Setsuna? Have they magically melted away?"

"No. It's still my duty to guard them. But I'm not going to remove myself from the world again. That…Doesn't work any more."

"I don't trust you," Taiki said, pain flickering in her lavender eyes and as she looked out over the lake. "I have no reason to believe you."

What Setsuna would have given to be able to reach out and comfort her, but there was nothing she could do, when she'd been the cause of Taiki's pain.

"That's okay," said Setsuna, though her throat was aching with unshed tears. "I didn't really expect anything else. But I wanted to give these back to you. It means…It means something you'll probably never know, Taiki, that you took these to the Doors, that when I went back there I could _feel_ the warmth of something living in that place. That the air was full of the scent of flowers. It was a beautiful gift."

Taiki's eyes widened as she looked at the pro-offered flowers Setsuna was holding out to her. "Are those the sweet olive blossoms I left at the Doors? They were still there?"

"No time passes at the Doors," Setsuna reminded her softly. "The flowers were exactly as you left them."

"Why did you bring them back?" Almost like she was in a trance, Taiki was reaching out to the flowers. Her fingers brushed against Setsuna's as she wrapped her hand around the stems.

"They'll die now that they're back in the world, but at least…They'll be connected to their planet again. Their essence will feed new life, and they'll be reborn, in their own way." Setsuna touched the soft petals. "Not even flowers deserve the fate of the Doors. I couldn't leave them there, even if they made it a more pleasant place."

She gave Taiki a tentative smile. "I'm sorry for taking up so much of your time. I appreciate that…It was more than I could even expect to have you listen to me like this. This really is a lovely place." Setsuna tipped her face up to catch the dappled rays of the sun shifting with the dancing leaves. "I can understand why you like to come here."

Taiki didn't reply. She seemed discomforted by the sudden return of the flowers, and equally unsettled by Setsuna's continuing presence. Sadly, Setsuna had to admit to herself that the awkward silence was probably her cue to leave.

"Setsuna!"

Setsuna was already halfway to the lake by the time Taiki spoke. When she turned back, she was surprised to see how disturbed Taiki looked.

"I don't want us to be enemies, Setsuna."

"Of course we're not enemies," said Setsuna, somewhat confused by the statement. "I would never want that."

It seemed all Taiki had to say; at least, she didn't add anything else when Setsuna started walking again. She skirted the lake until she found the path again that had brought her here. She didn't look back, though she wanted to.

The sweet olive blossoms rested beside Taiki on the grass, her fingers still touching the blossoms. The air was full of the scent of sweet olives already, but still Taiki was sure she could smell these ones, spending their perfume in riotous carelessness in the face of their own oncoming death.

"Fuck it all," Taiki cursed under her breath. "Why did Setsuna have to bring them back?"

* * *

_After another few months…_

The buzzing of her phone started Haruka awake. She found it after a moment of blind groping and brought it to her ear, staring at the 'number withheld' message for a moment before deciding she'd better answer it anyway.

"Hello?"

"They're kissing, Tenoh."

"What? Who is this?"

"Right now. They're _kissing_ and it's your goddamn fault."

" _Seiya?_ Where the hell are you calling from? How did you get my number?"

She felt Michiru stir beside her. "Haruka?" she said sleepily. "What's going on?"

"God damn it. Now you've woken Michiru up. It's four in the morning here. Do you realise that?"

"I'm calling from Kinmoku. How would I know what stupid time it is there? Anyway, that's not important. Don't think I don't know that you and Usagi were behind sending Setsuna out here – that lame plan has your greasy fingerprints all over it, Haruka 'love is everything' Tenoh. I've already watched Taiki go through heartbreak once because of that woman, and I'm certainly not going to—"

"Oh shut up," Haruka groaned. "It was _your_ Princess who asked Usagi to send one of us to Kinmoku. Go and whine to her."

"You didn't have to send Setsuna."

"Who else was going to go? Kakyuu was very specific about only asking for _one_ senshi. None of the Inners would ever leave Usagi. Obviously I wasn't going without Michiru or vice versa. Hotaru is still in the thirtieth century. Who does that leave? Kakyuu can work that one out as well as anyone, so if you're looking for a culprit, look closer to home. And anyway, Setsuna's not going to disappear again. She's realised that doesn't actually solve anything."

There was a short silence on the other end of the line. Michiru snuggled into Haruka's back and kissed the nape of her neck while stealing an arm around her waist.

"Do you actually trust Setsuna to do the right thing this time?"

Seiya's voice had lost its belligerence. Against all likelihood, she actually sounded as if she genuinely wanted to know Haruka's opinion.

"Setsuna didn't think Taiki was going to give her a second chance. She was well aware she had no right to expect one. So if Taiki has decided to trust her again, she's not going to screw it up. Now piss off and let me get back to sleep, you freak. And stop meddling and let Taiki make her own choices."

Seiya started to say something else, but Haruka had already hung up the phone.

"So," said Michiru, who'd caught the gist of the conversation. "Taiki's decided to give Setsuna another chance?"

"Who knows? All Seiya said was that they were making out."

"But that's a pretty good indication, don't you think?"

"I guess. Maybe Setsuna will tell us more next time she calls."

"Hmm." Michiru snuggled closer to Haruka. "Well…I hope it works out this time."

"Yeah," said Haruka sleepily. "Me too."

* * *

"She hung up!" said Seiya in an incensed voice, staring at her beeping communicator.

"Well didn't she say it was four in the morning there? I'm surprised she talked to you for as long as she did. If someone woke me up needlessly at four in the morning I'd kill them."

"It wasn't needless. And most people are not as obsessive about sleep as you are."

"Most people have their priorities wrong."

"Obviously," said Seiya, amused.

Yaten had already gotten into bed as they were talking. After switching off the lamps, Seiya joined her, and it was something that had already happened enough that it was no longer unexpected, but it was still nice to feel Yaten reaching out for her; to not be the only one doing that anymore.

"As much as I hate to admit sharing any opinion with that blonde beanpole," Yaten said, "I do think she's right. Taiki has to make her own choices, even if they're ones we don't like."

Seiya replied with an indistinct grumble.

"What was that?"

"Nothing. I guess you're right. I just…Don't understand why she had to fall for Setsuna. Again. An Outer Senshi. From another planet. I mean, it's not like Taiki had any lack of choice here. We live on a planet that only has women, the vast majority of whom are interested in other women."

"But when you love someone, that doesn't matter. No one else will do."

"Yaten." Seiya sighed. "Stop saying reasonable things. You're ruining this for me and I want to sulk."

"Fine. Whatever. But can you sulk quietly so I can get to sleep, or do you want to talk more?"

"Oh, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to keep you from your favourite activity. By all means go to sleep."

"Don't be snarky about it," Yaten murmured, though she seemed to take Seiya at her word, dropping silent and, Seiya assumed, falling into sleep.

But she found she was wrong after a short while, when Yaten said, "anyway, if I really had to say, sleeping with you…Is something I like more than sleeping in general. Even if you are a pain sometimes."

Seiya's eyes shot open in the dark. "Yaten, that was very nearly romantic."

"Shut up," Yaten said.

* * *

Taiki and Setsuna, it has to be said, hadn't even noticed when Seiya and Yaten went by, and the crack in the door was closed now anyway, having been blown shut by the breeze coming in through the windows.

Setsuna couldn't seem to get enough of Taiki into her arms; she was grasping at her, pressing closer, moaning into her mouth as they kissed, a joyful fire roaring in her belly as she felt Taiki run her hands down her body.

"Setsuna," said Taiki, her voice soft and urgent, "I want you. God, I want you, but for tonight…For tonight…" There was a raw vulnerability in her eyes as she admitted, "Will you just stay here and sleep with me? I don't think I'm ready for anything else yet."

"Of course. That's completely fine," whispered Setsuna, brushing her fingertips over Taiki's cheek.

"But…I'd like it…" Taiki's eyes shimmered. "I'd like it if you kissed me again."

Setsuna shifted her fingers to trace Taiki's swollen bottom lip, making her gasp, and then with a smile she leaned in to kiss her again as the scent of sweet olive drifted in through the open windows.


End file.
